


Triads and Tribulations

by loveandwar007, radiowrittenheart



Series: Monarchs of Mewni [7]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Family, Gen, Romance, rated T because the Lucitors are potty-mouths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 16:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11130471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandwar007/pseuds/loveandwar007, https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiowrittenheart/pseuds/radiowrittenheart
Summary: What do a demon king, the current Queen of Mewni, a witch in training and an overgrown Safe Kid have in common? They’re all on a mission to save their young daughters from a mysterious evil.





	1. Chapter 1

“Papa! Watch this!” The young Butterfly princess hooked her legs around a low-hanging tree branch and flipped herself so she was hanging upside down. “Lily and me are gonna see who can do it the longest.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Marco, her overcautious father said warily with his eyebrows raised. “Too much blood flow to your brain at once isn’t good for you.”

“But I can do it!” Lily chirped triumphantly, swinging her torso back and forth in the air with a wide fanged smile. “And we have a lava pool at home we fall into.”

“Yeah well, you’re a demon. Pandora’s half human, so it’s probably best if she—” 

“Is that why you’re The Safe Kid?” the horned three-year-old interrupted, her innocence making the question sound more like curiosity and less like teasing.

Marco stiffened. “Who told you I’m The Safe Kid?” As if he even needed to ask.

“Mommy,” Lily replied predictably. “And Daddy thought it was funny so he called you that, too.”

“Of course he did.”

“Mommy told me when we were eating breakfast, ‘you’re gonna go see Queen Butterfly and The Safe Kid today’—”

“Thanks Lily, I got it,” Marco said a little too loudly as his daughter began to giggle at his expense. He couldn’t wait to rip Janna and Tom a new one when they came to pick their toddler up tonight. He got enough of that taunting from his own kingdom, the last thing he needed was the Lucitors picking at him as well. 

“Is that why you’re watching us and not Mama?” Pandora asked, holding her forehead as the pull of gravity started to get to her, her crimson spade emblems flushing bright. “‘Cause you’re The Safe Kid?”

“No,” Marco insisted, even though his mind gave a half-hearted _“yes”._ “First of all, I’m not a kid anymore, I’m your father. Second of all, your Mama has a lotta work to do over the next couple days, so that’s why I’m watching you.”

“She _always_ does,” Pandora pouted, her blue eyes dulling in disappointment as her father approached her, bending to turn his head upside down so he could face her properly.

“And she wants to get it done fast, ‘cause _someone’s_ having a birthday party soon.”

“Me! Me, me, it’s me!” She flailed so excitedly that she forgot to enforce her leg strength, and with a yelp came tumbling towards the ground, where Marco caught her just in time.

“Yay, I win!” Lily cheered, though her triumph was short-lived as the king scooped her up in his other arm. “No fair! I’m telling my Daddy!”

“Oooh, I’m _so_ scared,” Marco rolled his eyes — the Underworld king hadn’t scared him since he was fourteen, and it was gonna take a lot to make him cower now. “Besides, I don’t want you girls that close to the forest.” He hadn’t wanted them to be here in the first place, but it was too nice of a day for the princesses to be cooped up inside. And unfortunately this field on the outskirts of the castle grounds was the only place they could play — the park was currently closed due to being raided by Invisible Goats. The girls wouldn’t be able to run five feet without hitting one.

“I don’t wanna go home!” Pandora whined, wiggling her feet in the air in violent protest as her father carried them several feet away from the shaded clusters of trees.

“Hey c’mon, that’s not how a big girl acts, Miss I’m-Almost-Four,” Marco pointed out sternly, setting her and Lily down on the grass. Two angry pairs of eyes, one blue and one red, stared him down as he knelt to their level. “We’re not going home, we’re just...gonna do something else.” 

“Hide and seek!” Lily exclaimed, clapping her pudgy lilac hands and completely forgetting her annoyance at her best friend’s dad. “And you be ‘it.’”

“So you can go back to the forest? I don’t think so,” Marco replied, and the Lucitor girl stuck her tongue out at him — looking strikingly like Janna back in kindergarten.

“Ooh, can we ride the Warnicorns?!” Pandora asked, jumping up and down in place. “The baby ones? _Pleeeeeaaaaaase?”_  

“Oh, uh…” Marco trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “I dunno if we should do that today, sweetie.”

“I’m not too little anymore.”

“No you’re right, it’s not that, it’s just — well, your Mama really wanted to be around for your first Warnicorn ride. She’ll be really sad if she misses it.”

 _“Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase?”_ both girls sang out, clasping their little hands to their chests, begging with their lower lips protruded. And the king found himself cornered, unable to resist their pleading gazes.

“Okay, but you both gotta do me a big favor,” he gave in, turning to his daughter first. “Pandi, when we take you out again with your mother here, you have to pretend it’s your first time. And Lily, don’t tell your parents either. You’re big girls, so I know you can keep this secret. Okay?”

The children looked at each other for a moment, considering his offer. Then they smiled wide, each drawing a finger across their lips. “We promise.”

“Alright, I’ll call the stables and have the little ones brought out.” He took out his phone and pushed one of the speed dial buttons as the girls squealed in their excitement, turning and plugging his other ear. “And stay close!” he added over his shoulder as they ran off into the field.

_“Butterfly Castle Stables, this is Wesley, and no we’re not the calzone place, their number is—”_

“Wesley, it’s me,” Marco cut off the stable boy’s rehearsed spiel. “Could you bring those two little Warnicorns and a couple saddles out to the grounds for the girls? And keep this on the down-low from the Queen.”

_“Right away, Your Majesty.”_

“Thanks.” He hung up with a wide smile at how happy his little girl was going to be atop that steed, while combating a twinge of guilt at crossing this milestone without Star there. But Pandora was growing up fast, and was itching to do all the _“big girl stuff”_ she was too young for before. He and Star had already started window shopping for a beginner’s sword, but that was still a few years down the road.

 _I’ll record it on my phone, in case she does find out._ Temporarily relieving his conscience, Marco turned back to where the girls had been standing a moment ago.

“Pandi?” he called out, his eyes scanning the deserted grass field. Nothing but a brisk winter wind answered him. “Pandi?! Lily?!”

 _They_ **_didn’t_** _,_ he groaned inwardly once his gaze landed on the entrance to the fatally enchanted forest. “Girls?!” he shouted at the top of his voice, sprinting into the darkened woods. _“Pandora?! Lily?!”_

The silence was deafening, pressing down on him with a weight of complete and utter dread. “Girls c’mon, I know you’re hiding...” They had done this before in the castle, but one of them would’ve giggled by now and blown their cover. Now there wasn’t a single sign of life.

As fear gripped Marco’s heart, his mind worked frantically on what to do next. Calling Star was out of the question — besides, maybe there really _was_ nothing to worry about. Then he remembered the stables and fumbled for his phone once more.

_“Sire, I was just about to leave—”_

“Forget that,” Marco said shortly, shocked at how hoarse his voice had suddenly become. “I need Churro saddled and ready to go, and tell two of the guards to come along.” Removing the dimensional scissors inscribed with his name from his belt, he slashed them into an elongated sword. “I need to make a trek into the Forest Of Certain Death _now.”_

 

* * *

 

“Your Majesty?” Geoffrey, the head chamberlain of Butterfly Castle poked his head timidly into Queen Star’s study. It was all he could do, since the door would barely budge past that point. The room looked as if she had cast several rounds of Narwhal Blasts; stacks of papers littered the floor, some toppled, some balancing dangerously. Spilled bottles of her signature glittered ink stained the ancient rug that had survived the past thirteen queens’ reigns, and the skinny high-strung man danced around broken pen nibs as he made his way to the desk.

“M’Lady? Erm, are you there?”

“I told you not to bother me!” Two three-foot high stacks of proposals and treaties parted forcefully to reveal an extremely frazzled Star Butterfly. She wore the same teal gown she had donned two days prior, hadn’t showered or touched up her face, and her bloodshot eyes made her look more than slightly crazed.

 _“Unless_ it was an emergency! You—you did say that.”

“I have ten proposals to make decisions on before five o’clock tomorrow, three building permits to accept or decline, on top of five appearances in the morning alone, and I literally haven’t seen my family in forty-eight hours.” She slammed her fists on the rickety table, making the teetering piles tumble down around her skittish chamberlain. “Someone better be _dead,_ Geoffrey.”

“It’s the King, Madam.” 

She froze, every corner of her sharpened features softening. “Where’s Marco? What happened?”

“He’s perfectly fine, but there is a—”

“I’ll take it from here,” came a softer hollowed voice from the doorway as Marco shuffled slowly into view. He gave the nimble little man a look, indicating the need for privacy, and Geoffrey bowed and scurried out the door, cowering from the blowout that was sure to occur.

“It’s Dad, isn’t it?” Star breathed out huskily.

“No, no one’s dead, Star.”

Dropping her head in relief, the queen slumped back into her chair and blinked rapidly, trying to focus her tired eyes on the thick packet in front of her before taking up her pink feathered pen to scribble her signatures once more.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Marco spoke up, his voice trailing off, his gaze dodging to the floor so he could avoid looking at his already tense wife. “Star? Can you pay attention for, like, one minute?”

Looming over the paperwork, Star sighed, lazily looking at her husband. “What is it?" 

She was already tired, on her third cup of Pixtopian coffee — which was technically banned in most dimensions — and already had so many things to battle as a Queen. Did she really need to hear this now? Could she afford to fit it in, amongst everything else? Then again, Marco pondered, how in the world would he be able to hide this?

“Marco?” Star piped up, arching an eyebrow. “What’s up?” Her tone of voice was just a tad bit rigid, and she looked ready to snap at any moment.

And Marco himself knew he was shaking, but he couldn’t avoid this—

“PandoraismissingandsoisLily,” he blurted out.

It took a moment before Star could respond, squinting at him. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked. “I haven’t slept in two days, Marco, _please_ work with me here.”

Marco took a deep breath, screwing his eyes shut and clenching his hands into fists.

“Pandora is gone,” he said. “And Lily is too. I — I was watching them and turned around for a little while a-and someone took them. I’m sorry, Star.”

He hung his head shamefully, practically refusing to look at his wife. But there was an eerie quiet for what felt like forever, and Marco opened his eyes slowly, looking up just in time to see his queen stand, shaking just as much as he was, laughing hysterically for a few seconds … and then promptly fainting at his feet.

 

* * *

 

“What’s happened?!”

“Young Pandora has gone missing!”

“The Princess is missing?!”

“And the Lucitors’ little girl! They were playing near the forest — snatched right out from under the King’s nose.”

“The _King_ lost them?!”

“Figures, I never liked him.”

 _“Quiet!”_ The hubbub in the throne room died as Queen Star marched in from around the corner, climbing the stairs to the thrones with her husband behind her. Although the emergency meeting had been called with no warning, she had still tried to make herself look presentable to her subjects. Yet the dark circles under her eyes were barely concealed under foundation and strands of hair were poking out of her updo.

“My shoulder tassels aren’t attached—”

“Sit down,” she hissed to Marco, lowering herself into the queen’s seat before addressing the members of the Mewnian High Court who had been able to attend on short notice. “I’m not going to allow any panicking or finger-pointing in this room. Most of you are parents yourselves. It’s hard to imagine how you’d react if the unimaginable ever happened to your children.” She took a deep breath through her nose, “I know you’re concerned for your Princess. But as her mother, if I can keep my cool, so can you.”

“The girls were King Marco’s responsibility!” came a woman’s shriek from the rear.

“You’re right, they were,” Marco replied, projecting his voice as loudly as he could over the utter shame in his tone. “Blame me if you wanna blame someone. But that’s why I’m bound and determined to find out where the girls were taken and bring them back to us.”

“Does anyone have any _helpful_ suggestions or questions?” Star sneered at Marco’s accuser.

“Were there signs of a struggle?” called a young duchess of Avarius. “They couldn’t have possibly vanished into thin air.”

“No, and that’s the weird part.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, Marco sifted through the photos he’d taken of the site. “Um — don’t think they’ll see it from here.”

“Gimme,” Star muttered shortly, taking the phone and positioning her right hand over the screen. _“Imageri Engorgio”_. Rays of neon light shot from the phone to hit the wall just below the Heart Regime coat of arms. Now the picture of the edge of the forest was large enough for the entire room to observe, the holographic image flickering as Marco went on.

“See? There’s no tracks of uprooted grass.” He flicked a few more photos across, “I searched two miles deep into the forest. There’s no way the girls would’ve gone further than that on their own, not on foot. I never heard a scream or cry for help, but I couldn’t find a trace of them either.”

“What are you saying then, Sir?” asked a nobleman sharply.

“I’m saying Pandora and Lily were abducted,” Marco announced darkly, switching the phone off. “And magic was involved. Something to silence them, something that wouldn’t leave a trace of evidence behind. Whoever this person is, assuming they acted alone, they covered their tracks really well.”

“So we have no leads.” The crowd could hear the despondency in their queen’s voice as she assessed the situation, her eyes lowered to the floor and her shoulders wilting. What they couldn’t see were her white gloved hands shaking as they gripped the arms of her throne, her resolve weakened from fatigue and worry. But Marco saw, and he reached over to hold one of them in his warm grip.

“I’d still be searching if I did,” he spoke only to her, a tremor rising in his voice. “But I know I’m right about this, Star. Pandora would’ve put up a fight if she was being dragged off, but if she was spirited away—”

There was a sudden _whoosh_ as a wall of fire lit up the throne room, and the court scattered themselves in fright. The king and queen’s eyes widened when the flames receded almost as quickly as they appeared, and they instantly jumped to their feet. Standing before them in equal regality were their long-time friends and neighbors to the south — _very_ south, as in directly below their castle. King Thomas Lucitor, clad in a blood red cape that nearly clashed against his orange-red hair tied in a ponytail. And next to him, Janna Ordonia, his enchantress queen, her own raven hair in a messy bun as if she had hastily bunched it up before departing. 

“You. Are. _Dead.”_ Neither of the Butterflys had to wonder who the demon was speaking to for long as he literally flew across the room, latching a hand around Marco’s throat and pinning him against the wall behind them.

“Tom!” Star cried out.

“Forget torture, forget taking my sweet time — I am gonna drag you down to the pits of Hell myself!” Tom hissed, his red eyes glowing as his long nails dug into Marco’s skin.

“Let go of him!” Star looked around at Janna, who strode forward calmly with her arms folded over her chest, breaths heaving with a glare that could slaughter the entire crowd if looks could kill, and knew she wasn’t going to get any backup from her.

“It was an accident Tom, I swear—” Marco gurgled, his windpipe cut off as Tom’s grip tightened.

“There are no accidents when it comes to my Lily! You got me?! _None!”_

_“Crystalized Ice Blast!”_

Tom shrieked in pain as a sensation akin to freezer burn welled up in his fiery hands. He jerked them back, causing Marco to drop to the marble floor on his knees, and the Underworld king whirled to face the queen of Mewni, who lowered her wand slowly. 

“I think that’ll be all for tonight,” Star called to the remaining members of the court who hadn’t run for the exits, “You’re dismissed.” The monsters and Mewmans bowed before making to leave, and Marco grabbed onto Star’s arm for balance as he got to his feet, his knees wobbling after hitting the hard surface.

“You think I don’t know how you feel?” he shot at Tom, who didn’t look the least bit remorseful over his actions. “Both of us? My daughter’s gone too, Tom.”

“Cut it out, he’s right,” Janna finally spoke up, grabbing her husband by the wrist as his palm flared up. “I’m pissed too, but tearing each other’s throats out over it isn’t gonna find them faster.”

“We’re sorry this happened — I’m sorry, w-we’re both just really sorry,” Star spluttered out as Marco coughed harshly, massaging his neck. “I-I don’t know what else to say.”

“Don’t say anything, ‘cause we’re done talking,” Janna stated curtly. “I dunno why you're wasting time rehashing with your court when we should all be out there looking for them.”

“You know we would, but I don’t even know where to start!”

“What happened to the Star Butterfly who used to charge in first and ask questions later?!”

“She grew up, Janna! Try it sometime!” Pressing her palms to her eyes, Star drew a shuddering breath and exhaled in something that sounded like a whimper. “Sorry… I’m running on, like, no sleep already. And now _this.”_

“We have to start somewhere,” Tom finally spoke up, keeping his hands pressed together as he breathed deeply, Janna holding his shoulders until he calmed down. “Like where they were taken, for example.”

“I already searched the area for two miles by myself,” Marco repeated, removing his crown to scratch his scalp in frustration.

“Then imagine how much ground we could cover with all four of us searching,” Janna pointed out with a proud nod.

 _“No,”_ Marco insisted, looking around at each of them. “Tom’s right, this is my fault, I’m the one who needs to get them back.”

“I’m not going back home without my daughter!” Janna barked angrily, and the three of them stepped back as a sudden bout of uncharacteristic rage flew across her naturally chill features. “You think you’re gonna go alone with just your little scissors to protect you, Diaz?”

“Didn’t know you cared so much,” Marco said smartly.

“I’m not doing this for _you,”_ Janna snapped impatiently.

“Fine, then the two of us will go.”

“What?!” came the outraged cries of their spouses, their jaws dropping open.

“I’ve got my scissors, and Janna knows plenty of hexes and jinxes to keep any magical attacks at bay—”

“Um, _hello?!”_ Star yelled, waving her wand in his face.

“This is probably gonna be dangerous,” Marco continued calmly as he watched his wife’s face flush, nearly concealing her heart emblems. “Whoever took them isn’t gonna let them go without a fight.”

“Don’t you dare tell me—!”

“I’m not saying you can’t handle it!” he shouted over her defensive presumption. “Mewni needs their Queen! You can’t just rush headlong into danger anymore, Star, you have a responsibility to your kingdom!”

“Oh who are you, my mother?!” Star crossed her arms over her chest, the crystal on the wand in her grip tinged with green. “Oh no wait, she’s dead. So I can do whatever I want.”

“Star—”

“Marco, you’re the last person who should be lecturing people on being responsible right now,” Tom bit out, baring his lower fangs.

“Shut up, Tom!” Star rounded on him next. “It was a mistake! It could’ve happened to any of us!” She stroked the head of the wand as if to soothe both it and herself before hooking it back on her belt. “We’re in my throne room, so what I say goes. All four of us are heading out to search — _and that’s final.”_ She emphasized the last three words directly at Marco, who simply stared resignedly back at her before throwing up his hands.

Ironically enough, it was Tom who seemed the most serene at this moment. He smoothed his hands over his suit jacket, and sighed.

“The Queen’s word is law,” he muttered. “Lead the way, Your Majesty.”

Looking at her oldest friend for a moment, Star could see the pain in his eyes and she shook her head as a silent apology. “We’ll leave in an hour,” she declared.

 

* * *

 

“So you’re positive there wasn’t any scissors activity in the forest today?”

“Trust me, I would’ve known about it right away,” Hekapoo confirmed, her face peeking through the swirling orange portal as she watched the king and queen strap armor to their bodies in preparation for their journey. 

“That’s good,” Marco breathed a little easier, securing the metal plates on his shoulders. “That means they’re somewhere on Mewni, maybe even still in the forest itself.”

“Mewni’s huge, Marco,” Star sighed impatiently, weaving her long blonde hair into a braided bun behind her head to keep it out of the way. “And no one’s ever seen the edge of the Forest of Certain Death. We could still be searching for days or even weeks.”

“Are you sure you don’t want backup?” Hekapoo asked, looking between them uncertainly. “I could summon Omnitraxus and Rhombulus — okay, maybe not him — but you guys need _some_ kind of escort.”

“We’ll be with the Lucitors, I think we’re covered,” Star assured her, clamping her belt shut with the heart-shaped buckle, stowing her wand in her right holster and a sword in her left. 

“But—”

“Hekapoo, we’ll be _fine.”_ She regretted her rather harsh insistent tone when the scissors forger twisted her hands together anxiously. “What is it?”

“Alright look, the High Commission _might’ve_ taken a solemn oath to your mother before her death that we’d watch over Queen Star and her family in any dangerous endeavors. But…” Hekapoo sighed, “I can’t disobey an order from you either. So we’ll stay out of it, if that’s what you really want.”

“It is,” Marco answered before Star could. “I dunno who or what exactly took our daughter, let alone why. And I don’t wanna put the High Commission at risk because of my mistake.” He withdrew his own scissors, the gold blades glinting in the light from the chandelier above.

“Gimme those a sec.” Hekapoo reached through and snatched them from the king before he could hand them over. “Eww, when’s the last time you cleaned these?”

Marco blinked. “You’re supposed to clean them?”

“Gross.” Raising the scissors to the ignited flame hovering over her head, she ran the dirty rusted blades through it three times before thrusting them back at him. “Lotta grime on there.”

“Sixteen years worth,” Marco smiled in remembrance, and Hekapoo’s eyes lit up when she realized it had indeed been that long.

“Hmm, you’re not as packin’ as you were in my dimension.” She eyed his stomach, which he covered with his arms self-consciously. “You’ve got some Dad-chub.”

“Well, he is a dad — _squish.”_ Star poked Marco’s love handles from behind as she passed him on her way to the wall mirror.

“But seriously, weapons aren’t gonna be enough to get you through the forest,” Hekapoo warned them, and they both looked up in alarm. “There’s some stuff in there that can really mess with you, stuff you can’t fight off with swords and karate and fire. And four parents worried sick about their kids aren’t exactly the most emotionally stable people to tackle them.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Pandora back,” Star vowed solemnly, then slid her heart-jeweled crown into her hair firmly as if for emphasis. “There’s no room for negotiating when her life could be on the line.” 

“Okay… in any case, you know where to find us.” With a _whoosh_ of air, Hekapoo’s face along with her portal disappeared.

“Well, whatdya say?” Star stepped back so Marco could take in her blue and violet clad armor, stretching her wings out behind her to make sure they weren’t obstructed before folding them flat again.

“I’d be scared of you,” Marco replied honestly.

“No one’s more scared than I am right now.” She turned her head when she heard the door to the armory open, Tom and Janna walking briskly towards them. “Don’t tell ‘em I said that.”

“You think they aren’t?” Marco held her by the arm and she stiffened, glancing at him out the corner of her eye. “We’re gonna find them—”

“I know we are,” Star cut him off curtly, pulling away from him just as he leaned in to hug her. “I don’t plan on coming back to this castle until we do.”

“Phew, this is starting to go bad,” Janna commented on the potion in her hand she had sniffed briefly. “Hopefully I won’t need to use it, or it’ll be totally weak.” She stuffed the bottle back in her belt, where she had a row of them lining her waist, as well as a couple of pocket-sized spellbooks of her own design in leather pouches. Over grey leggings with the durability of cargo pants was a skin-tight long-sleeved black shirt dress with a rectangle collar, a woven choker with fangs lining it around her neck. Tom wore a complete set of armor similar to Marco’s, but spikes protruded from the shoulders and wrist cuffs, a red and black theme with purple lining that contrasted the Butterflys’ softer yet fierce ensembles.

“Let’s not waste any more time,” Tom announced gruffly, tightening his holsters containing sharpened thick swords and tossing a machete to his wife, who caught it easily one-handed. “Show us where you were when it happened.”

Marco nodded at Tom, determined to avoid Star’s gaze. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hurt by her refusal of his embrace, but honestly, he wouldn’t want to hug himself either after today.

That winter’s night, not just one but _four_ angry parents were about to enter Mewni’s most treacherous lands. And in his mind, Hekapoo was wrong. It was the Forest of Certain Death that needed to worry about _them._

 


	2. Chapter 2

The towers of Butterfly Castle shrank into the distance behind them as the four monarchs marched across the field between the grounds of Butterfly Kingdom and outskirts of the Forest of Certain Death. The king of Mewni didn’t think he was ever going to be able to look at this area the same way again. Even after they found the girls — they _had_ to, that was non-negotiable — in the back of his mind he would always remember this as the place his daughter was abducted.

“So this was the last place they were,” Star clarified for Janna and Tom, who had not been present for the discussion with the court.

“For Pete’s sake Marco, it’s an open field—”

“Yeah thanks Janna, I _know,”_ Marco shot at her. “What did you want me to do, put them on leashes?”

“Knowing you, it wouldn’t shock me,” the Lucitor queen mumbled before turning to Star. “Well you were right about one thing, there’s nothing indicating a struggle.”

“At least not here,” Tom added, his long-nailed finger curled over his stubbled chin as he paced the grass. “Further into the woods, maybe.” He let out a sigh, securing his belt and cape tighter. “Well, let’s not waste any more time." 

“Just keep the blazes to a minimum,” Star urged sweetly, patting his arm. “This edge of the forest is still Butterfly property and I _will_ put any extensive damage on the Lucitor tab.” 

“Damn, she’s harsh,” Tom whispered to Marco out the corner of his mouth.

“That’s my queen,” Marco nudged him, a hint of pride in his voice.

“Alright, it’s almost sunset — about five-thirty,” Star checked her compact phone she kept stowed under her armor. “That means Pandora and Lily have been missing for like five hours. We need to keep on our toes and look for any signs that might point to what direction they’re in. And—” She held up her wand, which glowed pink much to their relief, “Be prepared to do battle. Ya know, like the old days. I dunno what’s all creepin’ around in there the deeper we go, but we gotta be ready for anything.”

Marco stood at the edge of the forest, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before facing his friends. “Last chance to turn around. Seriously, Star and I can do this alone if you want—”

“Forget it,” Tom cut him off darkly, pushing him aside as he charged ahead of them into the shaded cluster of trees.

“I’ve lived in the Underworld for eight years, I can handle whatever some Forest of Certain Death dishes out at me.” Janna twirled the machete in her hand like a baton before stuffing it back in her holster, following her husband down the path.

“Lily?! _Lily?!”_

“You think I didn’t try that?” Marco said to Tom exasperatedly as he brought up the rear behind Star, whose eyes were glued to the map projected from her phone screen.

“If we keep heading north, we run into Castle Avarius. I guess there’s a tiny chance the girls would’ve made a run for there if they got away from their kidnapper.”

“Does Pandi even remember where it is?” Marco asked over Tom and Janna’s calling of their daughter’s name. “I think we took her there once. When she was, like, a year old.”

“I dunno Marco, I’m thinkin’ out loud,” Star sighed out. “What makes you so sure they were taken anyway?”

“They wouldn’t just run off, Star,” Marco insisted. “Pandi likes to hide and joke around, but she knows when it’s time to stop.” He looked ahead of him at the other two. “Lily on the other hand—”

“Marco, she’s _three._ Are you seriously thinking she could be a bad influence on Pandi?”

“Look at who her parents are.”

“You think Tom and Janna are bad parents?!” Star hissed angrily.

“Well…” Marco trailed off sheepishly, gesturing forward. “Tom at least has some sense of responsibility, but Janna—”

“Marco, we’re not all born responsible like you,” she snapped. “And I figured by now you’d have realized that assumptions are usually wrong. For example, I assumed I could leave my daughter and her friend alone with my husband for _one stinkin’ afternoon.”_

She knew she’d hit a nerve, but the queen was steaming so visibly over his accusation of the Lucitors’ parenting skills that she didn’t care. “I never saw myself becoming a mother when I was younger, and I’m positive Janna didn’t either. But we are now, and now it’s about our girls before anything else.”

“You’re right, sorry.” They walked along silently for a few moments, Marco staring at his feet rather than his wife in shame, now for more reasons than before. Eventually they caught up with Tom, who was watching Janna inspect their surroundings.

“You know, if the four of us split up, we could cover way more ground that way,” the demon king suggested.

“Hopefully we won’t have to search too long for it to come to that,” Star said, clapping her phone shut. “Besides, I only know what’s north of here, and west is back to the castle. The rest...I have no clue." 

There was a loud huff of annoyance as Janna wrenched a bottle from her holster, dumping what looked like sand into her palm. Blowing it ahead of her, she let the wind carry the grains off into the breeze.

“What’re you doing?” Marco asked her curtly.

“Trying to detect any signs of magic use, what do you think?” Janna snarked, making a face at him. “Nothing. Either the thing that took them used an advanced concealer charm I can’t undo, or the girls are playing the best game of hide and seek ever.” She corked the bottle with unnecessary force. “I’m going with the former.”

“I don’t understand this at all,” Star breathed out, running a hand through her hair. “Who would take them? They’re still babies, they’ve never done anything to anyone.”

“But we have,” Marco pointed out, exchanging a solemn look with her. “Could’ve been some monster you beat up when you were seven, or one of Ludo’s old goons. Our sixteen-year track record isn’t exactly spotless, Star. Even now, it’s been impossible to make everyone on Mewni happy, no matter how hard we’ve tried. The possibilities are endless.” 

“Yeah well, everyone knows better than to mess with a Lucitor,” Tom snarled, folding his arms over his chest. “We could cover this entire land in lava if we wanted to, and I’ll snap the neck of anyone who lays a finger on—”

“Easy, Tom,” Janna interrupted, a malicious gleam in her eye. “That’s too easy — a quick, painless death? Nah, you gotta draw it out. Straight up _torture_ the bastard that took our girl.” 

“We’re not torturing or killing anyone!” Marco burst out, looking at both of them as if they’d gone crazy. “Listen to yourselves, you’ve completely lost all sense of reason—” 

“My daughter’s missing, Marco!” Tom bellowed. “I don’t give a shit about ‘reason’! Whoever took her is gonna have to answer to the Underworld royal family. That’s how being a reigning king works around here.” He narrowed his eyes at him, “If you plan on showing mercy, then you’re even more unfit for your crown than I thought.”

“That’s too much,” Janna scolded, grabbing his arm to whirl him around. “Your queen’s from Earth too, Tom — don’t you forget it.” Giving him a slight shove backwards, she plowed ahead of them onto the darker path where nothing but pitch darkness lay ahead.

“Fine, take off, see if I care!” Tom hollered after her. A moment later there was a scream, cut off as quickly as it happened.

“What was that?” Marco asked hushedly, glancing up at the swaying tree branches as the sound echoed above them.

“Janna!” Star shoved herself ahead of the men and charged into the void, wand gripped tightly in hand. A second later, she shrieked as well, followed by silence.

“Star?!” Marco called, but to no avail. 

“And then there were two,” Tom muttered half to himself, producing a fireball in his palm as he and Marco ran into the inky blackness, the human king with his sword at the ready. 

“Wait!” Marco flung out his arm to halt Tom, finally seeing the source of the screams in the fire’s light: A hole in the ground leading deep down into a seemingly endless abyss.

“Oh _great,”_ Tom spluttered, throwing up his hands impatiently, and Marco ducked to avoid his flames. “We already have no idea where we’re going, the last thing we need is to get detoured!” 

“Okay, let’s just forget it and leave our wives to die,” Marco nodded sarcastically.

“Star can take care of herself, they’ll be fine!” Tom argued.

“Really? Do ya hear anything?” They both stopped, leaning their heads over the crater. It was so eerily quiet that even Tom felt a shiver up his spine. 

“Fine, ladies first,” the demon gestured grandly. Marco sheathed his sword before taking a deep breath, like he was about to dive underwater, and leaping into the hole. Tom plugged his nose before following suit.

It wasn’t a freefall like they were expecting — rather it was as if gravity had increased and the hole was sucking them in. Marco could hear Tom yelling somewhere above him as they were pulled farther and farther down into the void; so far down that he was sure they were going to hit the core of...well, whatever the core of Mewni was. Corn, probably. 

What they weren’t expecting was what they found when they finally landed: Nothing but more trees and dirt and bushes, as if the entire ordeal hadn’t happened at all. Tom crashed into the dirt face first, realizing he had landed on top of another body when he heard a woman’s yelp.

“Janna?!” His heart leapt, except the hair underneath his hand was blonde. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Your concern for me is _so_ touching, Thomas,” Star hissed, accepting his hand as he helped her to her feet.

“When’d you put on all this muscle, Marco?!” came Janna’s yell from a few feet away, shoving him off of her as she made to stand. “I used to be able to pick you up and sling you over my shoulder!”

“Time for me to return the favor then,” Marco smirked, and without warning bent down to hook his arm around her legs and did exactly as she said.

“Put me down or I’ll curse you!” Janna cried out as Marco marched her over to the others with ease. “I’ll send you to a parallel dimension where you wind up married to Ferguson!”

“Yikes — here, you can have her,” Marco winced, plopping her down ungracefully in front of Tom before Star went up to him. “Where is this?”

“I...think we’re still in the forest,” Star assessed, glancing around as she stuck her wand back in her holster.

“You mean there’s an identical forest _under_ the forest?” Marco realized in panic, gripping the ends of his hair. “Just when I think I know everything about this dimension, they throw me a curveball!” 

“We’re in the same forest, Marco **—** and no one’s throwing balls!”

“He means — nevermind,” Janna waved her off, rolling her eyes to the sky. “Yep, same forest alright. It’s like we came out the other side.”

“Except…” Star opened her compact phone and raised it high over her head. “No phone service.”

“Me neither,” Marco grumbled at his own phone. “And I paid extra for this data package!”

“The map of the forest was on here! The map to our girls, and now I can’t access it at all!” Star wailed.

_“Do you really think those trinkets are your key to survival?”_

The four of them spun around, back to back with each other as what little light they had dwindled down to almost nothing, a disembodied androgynous voice roaring around them.

 _“Such an unparalleled circle of power,”_ the mystical voice drawled at them as they drew their weapons. _“And yet still, no match for me.”_

“Are you the one who took our daughters?!” Marco shouted, grasping his sword tighter.

_“What use would I have for two little princesses? Why, even the four of you combined is but a small fraction of the power I possess.”_

“We’ll see about that,” Tom muttered huskily, but Star grabbed his wrist before he started to throw flames in random directions. 

 _“I do not have your children. But I know where they are.”_  

“You do?” Star brightened for a moment. “Hey, maybe they’re actually trying to help!”

“Yeah, that’s why they made a hole in the ground to trap us,” Janna deadpanned. “There’s gonna be a price, there always is.”

_“The gamble, My Queen, is your very lives.”_

“A fight to the death? Bring it on,” Star nodded eagerly. “There’s four of us and only one of you.” No sooner had she spoken than a wind swirled down from the trees, whipping so forcefully that the monarchs had to shield their faces from flying twigs and leaves. Once it ceased, crouching before them was a familiar half-human half-lion figure.

“A Sphinx?” Marco raised his eyebrows. “Like the one at Quest Buy?”

 _“Oh,_ oh oh oh, I got this — it’s a leg!” Star exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I win!”

“You remembered _that_ but you couldn’t remember your coronation oath and had to write it on your hand?”

“I don’t judge your selective memory, _Marco.”_

“Yeah, ignore Antony and Cleopatra over there — so is it a fight or what?” Tom asked the emotionless human face.

“Fights are for children. Tests are for the grown sovereigns you are.” The eyes finally moved, flickering to each of them individually. “Survive the test, find your daughters.”

“What’s the test?” Marco asked warily.

“Each of you will be asked one question. Answer correctly, and I will leave you unscatched. You only get three chances.”

“Or what?” Janna arched her eyebrow. But she didn’t receive an answer, only felt herself being blown backward as the four of them were spread apart to the far corners of the clearing, as if about to face off in an arena.

“Way to go Janna, you pissed ‘em off,” Tom cried in a stage whisper, watching as the being rose and expanded higher and higher into an immense size that reduced the rest of them to ants in its vision.

 _“You,”_ the sphinx practically bellowed, the diamond on their chest lighting up and casting a spotlight on Janna. “You first, human witch. What does your husband love most?”

There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation before Janna snorted out a response; “Himself.”

However, the answer rang as false. The ground underneath them began to moan and groan, shaking ever so slightly. The sphinx rolled their eyes, shaking their head. “The man you love, what is his greatest weakness?”

This time, Janna took a second, glancing at Tom before blurting out another answer.

“Lily,” she said. “Our daughter, the one we’re trying to save?”

Once again, her answer seemed to be incorrect, seeing how a crack formed in between the human woman and the demon king, slowly separating them. Janna muttered a swear under her breath, backing away from the growing trench. She glared at the sphinx, who seemed rather amused by all of this. 

“This test does more than let you pass me by,” it hummed. “I will ask you one last time: What is the one thing that makes your husband vulnerable?” 

Janna licked her lips in thought, and her eyes went wide when she noticed the ground beginning to lift on her side and Tom’s, sending them both towards the trench — which was now revealed to be nothing but pure, never-ending darkness. She gulped, trying to keep her footing for as long as she could. And just as the slope of the ground increased, once she started to slide, Janna noticed the variety of emotions written on her husband’s face.

Confusion. Sadness. And something that resembled betrayal.

 _“Me?!”_ Janna blurted out once the trench opened up even further. “I’m his weakness?!”

With that said, the ground closed up and leveled out, causing Tom and Janna to fall and collapse face first, side by side.

“Took you long enough,” Tom grumbled, hoisting himself up off the ground.

“Next!” the sphinx roared, its light flashing over to Marco. “The king not from this world. Can you tell me what your queen’s greatest weakness is?”

For a moment, Marco almost followed the same route as Janna’s answer: Love. He was important to Star, wasn’t he? Of course. But there were so many priorities for a queen, for her as a person…

...and why they were all out here hit Marco in his heart and soul.

“Her family?” he spoke up. “O-or, y’know, the people she loves and cares about?”

The sphinx hummed, then tilted its head to the side a bit, as if mulling over the answer they had been given. “Good enough!” it roared.

“What?!” Janna practically shrieked, ignoring the sphinx’s intense glare aimed directly at her. “How?! I actually tried and you nearly kill us, but he gave some half-assed answer and you accepted it?”

“You should respect the higher powers of The Triad, human witch,” the sphinx growled.

Star winced, stepping in between her friend and the divine being. “Sorry about her,” she spoke up. “We’re all out of it right now, your, er— Sphinxness?”

The sphinx pouted. “Two more beings will challenge you,” they declared. “The Triad is a force not to be reckoned with or double-crossed. And we do much more than just let you pass through the dangers of the Mewnian forests.” They practically purred their last few words, ruby eyes darting between the quartet of unlikely heroes.

“Alright, alright, we get it,” Tom huffed. “So who’s next?”

As if by some sick twist of irony, the diamond spotlight landed right on him, illuminating him as he stood all alone, perplexed and surprised.

“Fearful demon king with the sharp tongue and fiery soul,” the sphinx said, bearing a toothy, tactful grin. “Tell me what you think the weakness of your human maiden is.”

“Excuse me, I’m his _wife,”_ Janna interjected.

The sphinx rolled their eyes, and suddenly sharp crystals broke from the ground, surrounding Janna from every angle. She didn’t seem phased at first, simply trying to step around them, until they started to make intentional aims right for her legs and other lower extremities.

Tom frowned and reached out to help her— that is, until a sparkling red barrier akin to lasers separated the two.

“Hey!” he hollered, turning on the sphinx. “What’s your damage?! Leave her alone!”

“Answer my question,” the sphinx deadpanned, clearly bored of the game by now. “What is her weakness? You have three guesses… but keep this up and I could be tempted to dwindle down your chances.”

Flames erupted from Tom’s hands and he growled, marching directly towards the divine statue. He kept going, closer and closer, practically at the foot of the sphinx until he heard a protest—

“Tom! What the hell are you doing?!” Janna’s desperate cry echoed in the narrow forest.

He stopped, letting the fire dwindle down, his eyes fade back to their normal crimson color. A deep breath escaped him, and he looked sincerely up at the sphinx.

“Me,” Tom said, in his softest, calmest voice. “I’m her weakness.”

The crystals vanished into thin air, the barrier gone, and Janna stood there, staring at the ground while Tom looked back at her with a bittersweet smile.

“Did you doubt me or something?” he asked.

However, there was no time or any space for his question to be answered. Everyone suddenly became alarmed when the ground began to rumble once more, breaking into a piece all its own… exactly where Star was standing. She fumbled and nearly fell off as that one specific piece of ground began to rise and rise, going up and up until she was face-to-face with the sphinx. 

They sighed and shook their head. “You know what I’m going to ask you, Your Majesty. The weakness of your king? The Earthling?”

Glancing down at her husband, whose expression was riddled with worry for her, Star suddenly felt frozen. She gulped, trying not to realize how high up she was, what the stakes were— stakes, oh no— stakes were popping up from the ground, surrounding Marco.

Almost like they were a prison.

“Don’t hurt him!” Star blurted out. “Marco, I — I got this, don’t worry!”

She bit her lip and thought for a moment. Oh, _no._

She didn’t have an answer.

“By all means, take your time,” the sphinx taunted her. “I could do this all day. It is you who will perish here.”

“Shut up,” Marco spat at the creature, grabbing the stakes blocking his way. “Don’t you _dare_ touch her.” As the being reared its maned head to glare at him, the prison stakes grew hot and he yelped, withdrawing his hands and scrambling away.

“He’s waiting,” they drawled, and Star’s heart clenched, being forcibly reminded of when Toffee imprisoned Marco years ago.

“His parents,” she guessed. “Rafael and Angie Diaz.”

 _“Wrong,”_ the voice rang out like a gong signaling an execution. Spikes protruded from the stakes, pinning Marco against an oak tree’s thick trunk.

“I-I don’t know! Marco, help me out!”

“He cannot help you. And should you aid her, my King, you will die here and now.”

“Star listen to me, you can do this,” Marco soothed her as best he could despite fatal spears being inches from him. “No one knows me better than you do.” And he smiled that smile, the one that could light up her whole world when things were at their darkest, that had saved her from spiraling into despair time and again.

“Me,” she sighed out, her eyes only on him several feet below her. “Is it me?”

“Getting warmer,” it teased. There was a low hissing, and for a second Star thought it was literally going to get warmer in their cramped section of the forest. Then Marco dropped to his knees as green fog surrounded his head, coughing when he was forced to inhale it.

“Whoa wait, what is _that?!”_ Star barked, sweeping her arm dramatically to point at him.

“Nothing — just something to make him sleep forever,” the sphinx drawled casually. “And not even a kiss from your passionate lips can save him.” They leered down at the now petrified queen. “One last guess.”

“W-what?!” Star spluttered out. “No, no, please!”  

She felt her knees buckle in fright and tears spring to her periwinkle eyes — she couldn’t lose Marco, she just couldn’t. They had been through so much together, this couldn’t be their end. There was still so much that hadn’t done yet, so many adventures they hadn’t tackled in ruling Mewni, living their civilian lives on Earth, raising—

That was it. Star could’ve kicked herself for wasting so much time, not realizing it sooner.

“Pandi...Pandora.” She faced the creature assuredly, “Pandora Butterfly-Diaz.”

“Oh — did I forget to mention this one had multiple answers?” the sphinx simpered innocently. “Fortunately for you, you got them both.” Star screamed as the raised platform she was standing on plummeted back to level, and she sprawled on the ground once she hit it.

“Your love is tried and true, despite all odds. Therefore, I release you to continue on your quest.”

Star was barely listening, hardly noticed the massive being dissolve into nothingness as she rushed over to where her husband lay, now freed from his prison but still weakened. “Marco...breathe, deep breaths.” She cupped the back of his head, elevating it gently as his coughs became shallow gasps, then finally even breathing as clean oxygen filled his shriveled lungs. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah...thanks to you,” he heaved, focusing on her dewed blue eyes to guide him back to consciousness. His wife sighed deeply in relief, pressing her forehead to his and planting a brief kiss on his lips. 

“Pandi’s your weakness?” Star smiled down at him, pressing a hand to her heart.

“You both are — the sphinx was right,” Marco said, his thumb stroking the heart on her cheek. “I’d be lost without my two favorite girls.”

“Eh, I knew he’d be fine,” Janna brushed off the sudden scare of almost losing Marco.

“Are you kidding? You haven’t crushed my hand that hard since you were in labor with Lily!” Tom exclaimed incredulously.

“Aw Marco, Janna cares about you after all,” Star sang out as her friend’s face flushed.

“Shut it,” the witch growled, yet bent down to give Marco a playful punch in the arm.

 _“But be warned.”_ The creature had disappeared, but its voice still swirled above them in the sharp winds. _“This was simple. The Triad will challenge you twice more, each test more difficult than the last. It is not the strength of combat we seek, but strength of mind and soul that we deem worthy. Prevail… or perish.”_

 

* * *

 

Cries, screams and wails echoed in the abandoned shack just outside of the Mewnian border. A wicked winter wind whipped outside the pathetic shelter, and soon a soft tongue clucking followed by a low chuckle joined with the cacophony of crying.

“Oh, stop your whining. It won’t do you any good.”  
  
As she spoke, she looked at her own reflection in a broken mirror, then down to the one particular little girl in the cage-like crib.

The reflection, the shard of glass, could only show her piercing eyes flickering, and one tiny mark on her chin— a spade-shaped mole. But the wailing little girl before her bore the true, powerful marks of Eclipsa. That little brat had no idea of the power she would have, the blessing she had. 

“Don’t you worry, Princess. You’ll understand in due time.”

She reached between the bars to gently caress the cheek of the young Butterfly princess… only to get her fingertips snapped at by the other girl, just barely out of her nap.

“Brat,” she hissed, wincing at the nip from tiny little demon teeth.

 _Demon_.

A sick chuckle escaped her, and she lunged her hand back into the crib, pinning the other child up against the bars. “Oh, I know you,” she crooned. “Lucitor’s only heir, aren’t you? What’s your name?”

Pandora began to grunt and cry, toddling over and trying to pull the other little princess away from the stranger.

“Stop!” she wailed.

The saccharine sweet tone of voice suddenly lowered to a growl; “Can it, sweetcheeks.” She leered at the one in her grip, “I asked you a question.”

“L-Lily,” the demon girl whimpered, trying to pry the huge long-nailed hand off of her with her smaller chubby ones.

“Oddly sweet name,” their captor mused, the demented smile still plastered on as she let go of her. Inside, she knew she might be in trouble.

 _I thought I’d only be facing the Queen of Mewni and her pathetic excuse for a King. But the Lucitors as well?_ She wasn’t certain she could take on all four of them. But then again, she’d only have to worry if The Triad failed to keep them at bay. It was now imperative that they were either killed or wasted away in the forests.

“Hope you hugged and kissed your mummies and daddies goodbye, ladies!” she trilled at the kids holding onto each other in the cage. “‘Cause that was the last you’ll ever see of them.”

The little girls went back to wailing and crying, and out of pure fury, she kicked the side of their crib.

“Listen to me,” she said, her thin, forked tongue slithering out as she spoke. “I am Eris of Septarsis. Do you know what that means?” She pouted, taking a moment to mull over what ridiculous sort of relation she had to that blessed brat. “It means I am the great-granddaughter of Queen Eclipsa and King Scorpio. Her ‘monster love’, not like you would know. But I should have been the rightful successor to Eclipsa’s power, not _you.”_

Almost as if she could indeed understand the dastardly villain’s words, Pandora shrieked, awkwardly stumbling towards the crib’s bars and shaking them. Eris growled and kicked the crib again, causing the little girl to fall on her rump and continue crying.

Her blazing violet eyes flashed. “I’ll have Eclipsa’s magic, one way or another. Your mommy dearest _will_ give me the wand, even if I have to pry it from her cold dead hands.”

Was she really explaining her evil plan to a pair of toddlers?

Well, at least it wasn’t her own reflection again.

“Mewni will bow to Princess— no, _Queen_ Eris,” she chuckled.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Star sat bolt upright, blonde bangs stuck to her forehead with sweat as she blinked up at the twisted branches above. That dream had been _bizarre._ There was a snickering voice — she guessed female — speaking in a low threatening tone, and then the crying. Her daughter’s crying as Star felt herself being choked, what felt like a thousand knives stabbing her body, so blinded by pain that she couldn’t fight back anymore.

_You won’t survive, Your Majesty… you may as well turn around…_

And then her eyes flew open, staring above her where Marco held out his hand.

“Told you a power nap would do you some good, ‘specially since you haven’t had a full night’s sleep in a while.”

“Y-yeah, sure,” Star stammered, taking his hand as she struggled to her feet in her armor, her neck sore from resting it against that rock. She wasn’t a shaking mess, but her hands trembled just a little in his grip, and she quickly pulled away before he could notice that something was wrong. 

She wouldn’t survive? Did the voice mean her? _“Your Majesty”_ could have been addressing any one of them. Maybe she was just going crazy with worry, like Hekapoo had warned them. But dreams came from thoughts, and her thoughts had to be telling her something.

“Star, are you listening?”

“Yeah, totallytotallytotally,” she replied loudly, shaking her head a bit to clear her mind.

“I’m gonna go on ahead with Tom then,” Marco said, and Star did her best not to look confused at his statement out of context. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” But that wasn’t her genuine tone, the completely contented _“I’m fine”_ that came from the bottom of her heart and made her eyes shine with life and courage. It was _“I’m fine”_ in her Queen Star voice, when hope was dwindling. And while it might work like a charm on her royal subjects, her husband didn’t buy it for a second. He’d put her through too much pain in the past by failing to read the true meaning behind her words to ignore it, but knew he couldn’t force her to talk either. 

“Alright...you can tell me when you’re ready.” Squeezing her hand once more, he strode up the path with the demon king while Star hung back with Janna. And after seeing her fold her arms and shoot that raised-eyebrows expression at her, Star wished instantly that she’d just told Marco the truth.

“What’re you, a mind reader now?” she bit out impatiently.

“I don’t need to, it’s _all_ right there,” Janna emphasized, waving her index finger in Star’s face. “Besides, I get major migraines whenever I try to do it.”

“What was Marco telling me?”

“He and Tom are gonna go clear the path that way so we can go on,” Janna explained, pointing to where the path sloped upward into a hill.

“And he didn’t ask the girl with the Wand to help?” Star seethed through gritted teeth.

“I hate it too, but it’s that ‘gentleman’ thing,” the witch said resignedly, throwing up her hands. “Gotta do all the hard work for the ladies, who can totally take care of themselves.”

“Idiots,” Star muttered, her eyes flickering around at the several paths laid out before them. “How do they even know that’s the right way?”

“I figured that one out,” Janna smiled smugly. “Try casting a locator spell.”

Star huffed irritably as she wrenched her wand out, gripping it with both hands in front of her as she shut her eyes in concentration. A quiet tinkling sound emitted from the crystal, and she opened them again at hearing the spell had been cast. Soft blue light spilled from the crest onto the ground and she aimed the beam at each of the paths around them. A soft gasp escaped her when the light landed on the one going uphill: The length of it, as far as she could see, was dotted with spade symbols.

“Pandora,” she whispered impulsively.

“Looks like you might be right — maybe this Triad is helping. In their own weird way.”

“‘Cause we proved ourselves,” Star concluded, flicking her wrist to turn the wand off. “Whatever that means.” She snorted, “Wonder if all the queens had to do this. Never did get around to asking Mom about that one.”

“Or you’re just ‘special’, like Eclipsa,” Janna pointed out as they started up the path to find their husbands. “‘Least you’ve got the rest of us to help you out.”

 _Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,_ Star thought as she recalled her nightmare. But, like with Marco, decided to dance around the issue once again.

“To be honest, I _wanted_ to search for the girls myself and leave you all out of it,” Star muttered. “I wouldn’t be the first queen of Mewni to charge into the Forest Of Certain Death alone.”

“Oh yeah, _that_ would’ve gone over well,” Janna rolled her eyes. “Then we’d all be treated to a twenty-minute Diaz lecture about love and loyalty and having each others’ backs and _yada yada yada.”_

“I’ve gotten into plenty of fights without Marco before, and I’ll get into plenty more before we die,” Star rattled off, her eyes boring into the back of his head farther up the path. “We’re a team, but we don’t have to be joined at the hip constantly.”

“Yet somehow you _are.”_ Her close friend snickered, and Star groaned inwardly as she linked her arm through hers.

“Not exactly how I wanted to spend our next girls’ day out, searching for our kids across miles of icky mud and itchy bushes. But I feel like it’s been forever.”

“We’ve been busy being royalty,” Janna shrugged. “Tom’s been letting me have a lot more say. He even put me in charge of diplomacy with the interdimensional covens. Sometimes we only see each other a few times a week, depending on how hectic it gets.”

“I’ve been doing nothing but settling disputes after I passed the Monster Anti-Discriminatory Act,” the Mewnian queen sighed. “Marco and Pandi had to make the last trip home to Earth without me… and the one before that. They didn’t stay very long ‘cause he — he wanted to be near me in case things got ugly, ya know?”

“It should be illegal for a guy to be as sweet and self-sacrificing as he is,” Janna replied sarcastically, yet a slight smile played on her lips.

“But it’s not fair to Pandi — she’s not spending enough time with her grandparents, and she’s not getting the full Earth experience like I did.”

“You’re ruling Mewni and raising a family, Star. No one said it was gonna be easy, yet here we are.” The trail inclined steadily and they leaned on each other a bit more, Janna peeling a sweat-soaked strand of black hair off her forehead. “You balance it out way better than I could. I’m jealous.”

“You are?” Star scoffed.

“In more ways than one. You stepped up and turned your kingdom upside down, you’re close with your family, you and Marco are sickeningly in love with each other—”

“C’mon Janna Banana, you’re such an accomplished witch that half the Underworld’s afraid to cross you,” Star countered, tugging her along with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. “You made your own crazy little family, your daughter’s adorable and Tom loves you to pieces!”

“I guess. Sometimes he _really_ does, and other times it feels like… I dunno, like Lily’s the only thing keeping us together.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Star said softly, “I saw you guys back there — you’d do _anything_ for each other. That’s all that matters in the long run.”

“I guess,” Janna shrugged again, and Star got the hint that she didn’t really want to talk about this. Maybe she was still trying to sort it out for herself. “Hey, are you, like… mad at Marco?”

Star hesitated. “No. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno, you guys aren’t doing that touchy-feely crap that much, and Marco’s depressing the hell outta us every time he opens his mouth and—” She stopped, biting her lips closed. “Sorry, I’m prying.”

“No, it’s okay, and—and you’re right,” the Mewnian queen admitted tensely.

“So you are mad at him.”

“N—well, y—a little,” Star finally settled on, letting up on Janna’s slender arm when she realized she was cutting off her circulation. “I’m a _little_ mad at him. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t be if Tom was in his place.”

“He’d be dead by now,” Janna stated bluntly, and Star chuckled nervously.

“But that’s not why I keep pushing him away. It’s ‘cause… I just can’t. The second he gives me one of those trademark Diaz hugs, I’m gonna start bawling. And I can’t deal with that, not right now. I can’t let him see how scared I am, Janna. We—we just need to focus on what’s most important, and that’s finding the girls.”

Janna raised her eyebrows at that, and now it was her turn to tighten her reassuring hold on her friend’s arm. She knew from past experience that the two of them bottling up feelings that they clearly needed to talk out with each other _never_ ended well. But given her situation with the demon king several feet ahead, who was she to start dishing out marital advice?

 

* * *

 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Tom asked, shooting another bout of flames from his hands to clear the brambles out of their path.

“No, I don’t have your _Love Sentence: Greatest Hits_ CD,” Marco droned, having told him five times already via text over the past week. “I’m a hundred percent digital, right to my phone.”

“Oh I already found that, I — uh — left it in the disc changer. Which is in Lily’s room now.” He smiled slightly, “We have trouble getting her to settle down at night, so I put it on so she can dance all she wants and wear herself out. Hopefully.” Letting the flames hover over a particularly damp patch of fallen branches, Tom grunted irritably as he failed to get them to burn away. “We belted out _‘Just Friends’_ the other night, she loves that one.”

“Always a classic,” Marco nodded approvingly, whipping his scissors sharply until the blades melded into sword form and hacking at the stubborn shrub. “Pandora likes _‘Awesome Feeling.’_ ”

“She has good taste.”

“Remember their farewell concert?” Marco sighed nostalgically. “You, me and Star just standing there singing and bawling our eyes out.”

“Oh yeah, Janna got it all on video — and threatens to show it at our galas sometimes.” Tom paused, glancing over his shoulder where his wife and Star were several paces behind them, whispering about who knew what. “That’s actually what I wanted to ask you about.”

“The Love Sentence farewell concert?”

“No, _Janna.”_ The demon king shook his hands to extinguish the fire in them as Marco finally kicked the rest of the dead tree aside so they could walk on. “I dunno what her deal is, especially after that episode with the sphinx. It’s like she thinks I don’t love her or something.”

“Well neither of you are the greatest at showing affection,” Marco pointed out. 

“You’re right, we should hug every twenty minutes like you and Star,” Tom muttered dryly.

“For your information, we haven’t hugged once since the girls went missing. She probably doesn’t even — whatever, we were talking about Janna.” He shook his head to clear his own troubled thoughts and focus on helping Tom out. “She’s hard to read, to be honest.”

“You’ve known her your whole life,” Tom remarked, raising his eyebrow.

“I spent most of my childhood avoiding her, she creeped me out. Then in junior high, she started flirting with me.” Marco furrowed his brow, having never really assessed his relationship with the occult-loving girl he’d been around since grade school — he’d been so focused on catching Jackie Lynn Thomas’ eye back then. “I guess it wasn’t really until she got close with Star and started dating you that I began to see her as a friend. Though friends don’t usually change your bank PIN numbers randomly just for laughs.”

“She does that stuff ‘cause it’s so _easy_ to get a rise outta you,” Tom chuckled over at him. “Stopped poking around in my privacy after it got me so mad I burned some ancient demonology book she was studying. Total accident,” he added quickly, then made his voice higher and huskier to imitate Janna’s: _“‘If you wanted me to stop, just say so.’_  I’d never regretted hurting someone so much before. But at least then I knew what I did wrong. Now I have no clue!”

“She's different around you,” Marco mused. “I mean we all got older, but you guys... really grew well together. You used to be a lot more controlling before.”

“Janna never put up with that shit,” Tom said, stealing a glance back at her again. He could've sworn her eyes flickered towards him before darting away. “And I didn't wanna lose her, so I tried to be someone she deserved.”

“She still stuck with you though. Married you, had your kid. You must be doing something right.” He clapped a hand on Tom’s shoulder, “Janna loves you. She loves you in her own insane way. She listens to you, she became a better person because of you. You don't have to hug and kiss all the time to show love. Star’s parents didn’t. And you guys are living proof of that, too.”

“Then what — what was all that about?”

Marco shrugged. “Maybe it's not you. I mean, you know Janna, right?”

All three of Tom’s eyes rolled, and he huffed. “I’ve been with her for almost ten years,” he retorted. “I like to think I know her, so yes. What are you getting at?”

“Just… just think about it,” Marco said, his voice lowering to a whisper as their wives began to catch up with them. “She’s not always as tough as she looks, right? There’s something that everyone hides.” 

Tom knit his brow. “What are you—?” He cleared his throat, noticing how quickly Star and Janna were approaching them. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Got it.”

“I need to talk to you,” Star said as she marched towards them.

“Okay—”

“Not you, I mean Tom,” she clarified, nodding at the demon king who looked taken aback.

“Uh, alright,” he replied warily, letting her take his arm and push him up the path, leaving Janna and Marco eyeing them strangely. “I dunno what you heard, but whatever it is, Janna started it.”

“Real mature,” Star rolled her eyes. “No it’s...I had a dream during my nap.”

“Yeah, Jan could sense something was up with you, that’s why we sent Marco to wake—”

“Marco said he suspected magic was involved, and Janna even predicted the girls’ kidnapper was a magic weaver of some kind. I think I heard them in my sleep.”

“Did you see where they are?” Tom asked eagerly, his red eyes shining hungrily.

“I couldn’t see anything, all I could hear was Pandi crying and this awful voice saying _‘you won’t survive’_.”

“You made them sound Irish.”

“They’re not Irish,” Star deadpanned. “The point is I was being warned. I feel like all four of us being out here is a mistake.”

“There’s so much random magic in this forest,” Tom agreed. “Magic we know, we grew up with, magic _we_ can handle. You and I aren’t the ones I’m worried about.”

“I know,” Star said softly, looking over at their spouses, who gave them looks as if to say _‘Come on already!’_ “That sphinx would’ve killed us if we failed — the creatures here have no regard for mortals. We can’t leave our kingdoms without rulers. And we can’t leave our daughters orphans.”

“So what are you saying?” Tom practically challenged. “I’m not ditching Janna.”

Star shook her head. “I’m not saying that at all,” she whispered. “But… I-I think we need to let them go. Send them back home.”

For a moment, Tom’s face fell. He was wrought with every upsetting emotion, except for anger, and he ran a hand across his face with exasperation. “I hate it when you’re right, you know that?” he muttered.

Marco and Janna finally met the gazes of their respective spouses, and Star swallowed hard, nudging the demon king beside her.

“You guys need to turn around,” Tom said, almost looming over everyone else. He sighed, and nervously scratched the back of his neck. “Go home. It’s not safe, for any of us, but… it makes more sense if Star and I keep going.”

Janna frowned, “Not happening. We’re going to get our kid.”

Tom knit his brow. “But what if we don’t?” he rebuked. “What if I die on this expedition, Jan? _And_ you? Who’s going to raise Lily— what if she’s already gone?”

“She’s not,” Janna insisted. “None of us are dying.”

“You don’t know that!” Tom argued, already feeling his palms heat up. He growled, and glanced to Star. “Go on, explain!”

Star hesitated, then sighed. “What Tom is trying to say is… if one of us get hurt and the girls are already gone… I mean I _hope_ not, but if they are, our kingdoms can live on through you two,” she explained. “If we all go, then Mewni could collapse. The Butterflys and Lucitors are pretty high up on the rankings.”

Marco paused, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else, staring at the ground. “The Butterfly kingdom can’t be run by a king alone,” he said.

“If the queen is, well, ‘gone’ and there’s no princess, then yes, it can be,” Star confirmed. “It’s in my oath: If anything happens to both me and our heir, then I bequeath my power to my king and you become the sole ruler of Mewni.” She arched her eyebrow at him, “See? I remembered _that_ part.” 

“I’m not leaving,” Janna affirmed. “Besides, what if you two idiots die and our girls are still alive? Then who goes to rescue them?” She adjusted the holster of her machete and huffed, glaring at both Tom and Star. “You think we’re gonna drag you down, don’t you? Because we’re human?”

“Janna, that’s not it,” Star assured. “We know you’re both powerful in your own ways.”

“Yeah, okay, sure,” Janna grumbled at the woman she had confided in just minutes ago, “Screw you guys.” She took Marco’s arm, dragging him by her side. “Diaz and I will prove we’re just as tough, if not tougher, than both of you combined! We’ll split up, yeah? Team Human Beings!”

She took Marco’s hand, lifting them up above their heads.

“Whaddya say, Diaz? You and me got this, right?” There was a furious, almost jealous glint in her brown eyes, and Marco took a moment, stammering, glancing at his wife.

And Star looked just as fed up as the rest of them. Usually, she was the ray of hope, the shining beam of optimism when all seemed lost and dark… where was the woman he loved with all of his heart?

Marco frowned, and nodded. “Sure, Team Human Beings, I guess,” he mumbled.

“What?!” Tom howled. “Marco, you can’t be that stupid—”

“Let them be,” Star declared. The other three fell silent, noticing how regal and queenly she seemed, just by her firm stance and tone of voice. She unsheathed her sword, already marching forward towards the thorny bushes that blocked their path.

“Tom,” she spoke up, while she started to slash at the bushes. “Let’s _go._ ”

“Wait, Star!” He began to run after her, taking one last glance at his stubborn — and betrayed — wife, before following the Butterfly queen into the thick of the brush.

Janna snorted, and tugged Marco by the arm, heading down the opposite path on the trail.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he mumbled.

“I’ll hex us out of it if things go south,” she snapped. _“Come on,_ time’s a-wastin’.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, the king of Mewni found himself sighing loudly, sitting on the cold hard ground twirling his scissors by the purple handle on his index finger. “Yep. Definitely starting to think this wasn’t a good idea.”

“Shut up,” Janna shot at him, sprinkling what looked like salt onto the dirt in a jagged line down the path. “I know it’s not as flashy as your wife’s magic, but demon witchcraft’s an art all its own.”

“I know. You used to keep your books in my locker, remember?”

“You actually read them?” she asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“I skimmed a couple, ‘specially after all those curses Tom put on me after the Blood Moon Ball,” Marco replied with a shudder.

“That’s baby fodder compared to what he can do now,” Janna smiled slyly, her suggestive tone making Marco’s skin crawl. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t have any magical abilities at all if he hadn’t-”

“Okay, got it! Don’t need to know any more!” he cut her off loudly, knowing it had been after her wedding night that she could suddenly cast real spells. Janna snickered at his discomfort - as she always had since she first met him - before standing up straight to examine her work.

“And now,” she trailed off, reaching into a tiny pouch on her belt and pulling out what looked like whips of orange-red. “Essence of Lily.”

“You carry your daughter’s hair around with you?” Marco squirmed inwardly, watching her flick the hairs over the white powder.

“Oh I got samples of everyone,” Janna stated proudly. “Tom’s spit, Star’s eyelashes, your tears-”

“How’d you get my tears?!”

“From the last time we watched _A Pair Of Scissors._ That ending gets you every time.”

“Get outta town!”

And Janna laughed her first real laugh since this whole ordeal had begun. “Man, I miss that!” she chortled. “Remember when me freakin’ you out was the weirdest shit you had to put up with? Before those two crash landed into our lives.” Her face darkened briefly as she thought of their spouses, then lit up again when the sand began to glimmer like gold. 

“What’s that mean?” Marco asked alarmedly, scrambling to his feet.

“It means this is the right way to the girls,” the witch called over her shoulder as she strode up the trail, Marco huffing to catch up to her. “Gold means it’s a shortcut, too.”

“Great, let’s cut the travel time in half and hop on your broomstick.” He received a hard elbow to the ribs for that.

“Stereotype much?” Janna muttered grimly, and she folded her arms across her chest as if she was cold. They continued along in silence, watching the moons rise higher into what little they could see of the sky. In another hour it would be midnight, and then they’d have to start thinking about camping out. And even though Janna never considered herself prissy, sleeping on the ground still sounded disgusting -- plus the thought of huddling with Marco for warmth was just awkward. 

“So...how’re things with you and Tom?” Marco tried casually, and regretted it in an instant when Janna’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“Wow, no discretion with Marco Diaz! He just jumps right to the point!” She ground her teeth as an irate growl escaped her throat, her hand involuntarily going for her knife holster. “I _knew_ you two were talking about me.”

“Well after that sphinx thing he-” He clamped his lips shut, mulling over how best to approach the topic. “Is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“Oh no,” Janna shook her head, waving her machete in his face. “You’re not pullin’ that Dr. Marco PHD bullshit on me, I’m not having _any_ of it.”

“As a _friend,_ Janna! I just wanna know what’s bugging you,” Marco said, watching her hack away at every branch that even mildly inconvenienced their path. “C’mon, you can tell Star but you can’t tell me?”

“Yeah, I told Star, and look what happened there. She doesn't even consider me her equal, let alone her friend.” She glanced over at him with an arched eyebrow. “I’m surprised _you’re_ not more mad at her.”

“I am, but not as much as I am at myself.”

“Oh _gods,_ are you just gonna keep throwin’ your little pity party until we get the girls back?!” Janna finally yelled exasperatedly. “Nobody’s blaming you, Marco!”

“I know Star hates me for what I did,” he mumbled, making to shove his hands in his pockets before he remembered his armor was covering them and folding his arms instead. “Or rather what I _didn’t_ do. She doesn’t have to say it out loud, I can just tell.” His eyes darted back to her. “Just like I can tell you’re upset with Tom.”

Janna groaned, rolling her eyes to the sky. What did she ever see in Marco when she was younger? _Well, he does have a nice butt,_ she thought, eyeing his backside briefly. “You think you’re so smart, don’t ya?”

“I notice things about people, that’s all,” Marco shrugged.

“Says the guy who didn’t catch on that his best friend loved him until she said it _out loud.”_ The witch grinned at his stunned look when she threw his crappy logic back in his face. “FYI, she doesn’t hate you. She’s scared, just like the rest of us are. But she figured one of you had to take charge and be the strong one, so she appointed herself.”

“Aw man,” Marco sighed, rubbing sweat off his hairline, seeing his wife’s determined face when he closed his eyes. That was Star all right; channelling her natural leadership abilities into the task at hand without letting on how vulnerable she felt. Especially if it was to spare his own feelings.

“So can you relax a little bit now and get on board with the rest of us?” Janna prodded, her tone a mixture of irritation and — Marco dared to wonder — _concern?_ “I really wanna stick it to Tom when we find the kids before they do.”

“It’s not a contest Janna, geez! You care more about sticking it to them than you do about Lily?!” He felt all the air leave his lungs as a pair of hands grabbed him and flung him against the nearest tree trunk. Panting, he stared down at Janna who had pinned him there with an unexpected amount of strength, given that she was the shortest of the four of them.

“There’s nothing I care about more right now than Lily,” she hissed at him. “You think you’re so _introspective,_ Diaz, but you take one look at me and you’re just like the rest of them. You don’t think I have feelings or emotions or care deeply about anything except freaking people out with my black magic. Newsflash, I _do_ care.”

“I never said you didn’t care at all,” Marco said tensely, staring down into her enraged features. “S-sorry if it came off that way.”

Janna let go of him with a scowl and turned away, rubbing her hands over her eyes. “It’s complicated with Tom. It’s always been complicated with him. The Underworld citizens think we’re this perfect pair ‘cause he’s loud and emotional and I’m cool as a cucumber — it’s a lot more layered than that.”

“Yeah, I totally understand,” Marco nodded.

“Do ya?” She raised her eyebrow doubtfully.

“Look, Star and I sure aren’t perfect — we’re as weird as couples get.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” Janna snorted as Marco gave her a withering look.

“But we support each other, we understand where the other’s coming from. I always put her first ‘cause Star’s happiness is the most important thing in the world to me. And I feel like a better person because of her.”

Janna didn’t say anything for a few moments. It was so bizarre that the same things she couldn’t stand about Tom were also the things she loved about him. He was loud and emotional, and in turn she had opened up more. But not enough, apparently, given how badly she’d faltered with the sphinx’s test.

Maybe because deep down, she wasn’t sure what he even saw in her to begin with. There were no broad declarations of love, just winks and pecks. There were seldom long embraces, just playful piggyback rides or sitting leaning on each other in silence. That was who she was, that was how Janna Ordonia showed love. How could Tom possibly think that was enough for her to be his ultimate weakness?

“I dunno… I don’t feel like I’ve made anyone a better person,” she finally muttered. “It’s like I’m just along for this ride.”

“I know that feeling all right,” Marco sighed, then jumped back as she shot him another angry look.

“Oh boo-hoo, I guess being the absolute sweetest guy in the world isn’t good enough for you!”

“And I guess clawing your way up from regular human girl to all-powerful sorceress isn’t good enough for _you!”_

They stared at each other for a moment, any and all annoyance flickering in their features. Did they finally find some common ground? Marco valued supernatural ability while Janna valued kindness and empathy, the virtues they felt were lacking in themselves.

“Star needed a friend,” Marco said, his voice back down to level. “Not a prince or knight or magical war hero. Just a life partner. So I was gonna be that for her, no matter what.” 

“Tom’s dad wasn’t gonna let me be with his son unless I was deemed worthy,” Janna bit out. “I didn’t just dive headfirst into every branch of witchcraft, known _and_ unknown, for myself.” 

They both let out a long breath neither of them realized they had been holding, and the king chuckled softly. “We’ve done a lot for them, haven’t we?”

“Got bored with our normal lives and they gave us something more exciting,” Janna agreed, and Marco thought he heard a note of regret in her voice. “Guess it was the least we could do for them.” Slumping her shoulders, she groaned in frustration as she felt around her belt for the white sand again. “Dammit Diaz, ya know I hate getting mushy.” 

“Yeah, I do,” Marco smirked at her as she flung the sand downward.

Only for it to vanish when it hit the ground.

“What the…?” Janna grabbed another handful and sprinkled it again, and again it disappeared before their eyes. “Oh geez, _now what?!”_ she hollered up at the canopied branches swaying ominously above them. “Don’t you have anything better to do than be haunted all the time?!”

“Shh, listen,” Marco whispered, gripping her shoulder as he strained to hear. Then Janna latched onto his arm when she heard it too; the breeze making a low humming sound, almost like a song.

_“Two little Earth children lost in the woods, dropping bread crumbs along the way…”_

“What is this?” Janna seethed, trying to steady her pounding heart so she wouldn’t have to admit this was freaking her out.

A white glow materialized before them, and they stepped back as it grew larger. For a moment Marco’s heart leapt, thinking it was an interdimensional portal, an ally or enemy waiting on the other side. Then it blinked away, revealing whips in the shape of a face and body hovering before them.

“Oh wait, I got it: The Ghost of Christmas Past,” Marco sassed, earning another pointy elbow in the ribs from his companion.

“Ugh, how many more of you weirdos do we have to go through?” Janna groaned.

The spirit before them, androgynous in appearance but vaguely feminine in voice, paused before giving a wide smirk full of teeth. “I would mind your tongue if I were you, witch. Your words may be your downfall,” they crooned.

Janna huffed, and looked at Marco, who just shrugged.

“I mean, they’re called the Triad so, I guess three altogether?” he muttered.

“So after this guy, only one left?” she whispered back.

“A- _hem,”_ the spirit said, enunciating the word rather than actually clearing their throat. Both humans returned their attention to the being before them, flame-like eyes dancing between the two of them. “You each seem to be missing someone…”

Marco and Janna both frowned, sharing each other’s gaze for a split second before the spirit vanished into thin air. This perplexed them for only a moment, until the nearby bushes of thorns began to rustle. He withdrew his scissors, whipping them open to form his sword, and she had her grip on her machete, belt of spells and hexes ready to go at any second.

They nodded in unison, slowly stepping towards the rustling— only for two very, very familiar figures to pop out from the thorny mess.

“Tom?” Janna said, her own voice surprising her with its softness and relief.

“Star!” Marco beamed, instantly rushing to his wife and enveloping her in a hug.

Tom huffed, rolling his eyes. “Do you guys always have to do that?” he grumbled. If it wasn’t plainly obvious, it was as if he seemed jealous of the affectionate fellow royal couple.  He glanced at Janna, with a reluctant half-smile; that damn smile she fell so madly in love with. “Hey, Jan.”

All seemed well, nothing but a sudden scare… 

Or so they thought. 

Right behind them, another rustling of bushes arose, causing the troupe to all turned around and face whatever foe was next.

But the faces that emerged from the depths of the forest were also very familiar.

“Marco?” Star blurted out, baby blue eyes wide.

“Janna?” Tom muttered, clearly disgusted by the sight before him. Janna jerked away from the Tom who held her shoulder at the same time Marco pushed away the Star in his arms.

“What’s goin’ on here?!” Marco shouted.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” the second Star who had just emerged snarled, her gaze narrowed at the imposter her husband had been embracing.

“Get your mitts off my wife,” growled the Tom next to her, firing up his hands. 

 _“You_ r wife?!” the first Tom spluttered as Janna and Marco slowly backed away from the twin sets of their spouses.  

A highly amused laugh echoed in the breeze wafting through, and the humans stood back to back, pointing their weapons at the sky as if waiting for the spirit to reappear. But they never did. 

“What a predicament,” the invisible voice chortled, and the ground shook as giant stones rose out of the dirt, blocking the path to and from the canopy the four — well, six of them — stood under.

“Lemme guess,” Marco sighed, looking between the two identical pairs. “We have to choose which ones are the real ones.”

“And if we choose the wrong ones, something horrible will happen,” Janna recited almost boredly.

“Earthlings are smarter than they appear,” the spirit crooned in response. “Indeed, the challenge is to decide which is genuine and which only pretends. In order to pass through my barrier and continue on, you must turn your weapons on the liars.”

“W-wait, we have to _kill_ the fakes?” Janna stammered, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. “What if we guess the wrong one?!”

“This is so stupid, c’mon Jan—”

“No!” Janna swung her machete around at the Tom to her left, who backed away with his hands in the air. “Both of you keep your hands off me until I figure this out!”

“This never would’ve happened if we’d just stayed together!” Marco yelled to all four of them.

“And this never would’ve happened—!”

“—if you’d just went home like I told you to!”

Marco’s stomach dropped, staring at the two Stars who had answered him at once. “This is gonna be harder than I thought… wait! My Star has a scar on her neck. From the final battle with Toffee.” 

With a roll of their eyes, both Stars tugged down on their collars and exposed their jugulars. Both had the same raised scar from chin to collarbone, and Marco swore under his breath.

“You idiot, of course they both have it — they _look_ exactly the same!” Janna cried. “You gotta ask them questions to find out which one’s real! Like this; watch and learn.” She glanced at both versions of her husband, giving a sly smirk. “Where was Lily... ‘created’?”

“Janna!” Marco groaned. “Can’t you keep it PG for once?”

Janna gave an apathetic shrug. “I’m not asking for detail, Diaz, chill,” she muttered. “Besides, it _is_ something only the real Tom would know.”

The Tom on the left ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly, almost pulling on it in frustration. “In the back of your car,” he muttered. “That stupid pink hearse that I think you love more than me.”

 _Point one,_ Janna thought almost bitterly.

“In the back of the hearse at Saint Agatha’s graveyard,” the other Tom piped up.

An interjection from the first; “On the first evening of the fall. It was a harvest moon, right?”

“I might’ve almost accidentally burnt down the car too,” the second added.

Janna paused, then swallowed. “Shit,” she whispered, leaning in close to Marco, keeping her voice low enough for no one else to detect. “They’re good.” She took a moment to realize Tom usually had a pretty sharp memory; questions would have to be difficult in order to figure out which one was which. Sure, he had forgotten their anniversary once… okay, more than that, but still.

She gripped her machete, her gaze going back and forth between the two of them, trying to spot any physical differences, any crucial mistakes a duplicate could have made. While she inspected both Toms, Janna nudged Marco.

“C’mon, Diaz, while we’re young here,” she hissed. “Ask them something.”

“I’m thinking!” Marco blurted out, quickly becoming nervous under the gazes of his wife and her clone. Whichever one was which. “Uh, the first Love Sentence concert we went to. What day was it?”

One of the Stars groaned, rolling her eyes. “Marco, we don’t have time for this!” she snapped. “You know it’s me!”

The impatience was definitely a guaranteed Star trait, but the other one still hadn’t replied.

“Uh,” she paused, nervously scratching the back of her neck. “It was a Friday night. April, right? I… I usually try to forget about that night.” Denial. Also vaguely Star. But Marco had to give this version of Star some credit, at least she was trying. And he was pretty sure she was on the right track.

“Alright, okay,” Janna interjected. “Tom, what was the first thing I stole from you to get your attention?”

“Skeleton keys,” they both replied in unison.

Janna bit her lip. That was too easy.

“Tick, tock!” the voice laughed. “With each passing moment, the double’s mindlink with the original grows stronger and stronger!”

Marco paused, looking at his fellow human. “Janna,” he said, his voice shaking. “I don't think questions are gonna work that well…”

“You got a better idea?” Janna mumbled.

There was a pause before Marco let out a defeated sigh; “No.”

“It’s okay, Marco…” He raised his eyes to the Star on his left, the one who actually answered his concert question. “I trust you. We’ve been besties since we were fourteen, and no one knows me better than you.”

The other Star’s eyes widened in panic. “Marco, don’t listen to her! Come here, Marco, please!”

“Let’s get outta here.” The calmer one reached out her hand, her gold wedding band glinting in the moonlight through the branches. “C’mon, we have to find Pandi.”

“Marco, _stop!”_ Janna screamed, just as he whirled around and plunged his scissors into the upper arm of the Star on his right.

“Oopsie.”

“No — _Star!”_ Marco cried out, watching horrified as she crumpled in pain, blood spurting from her shoulder while the spirit _‘tut-tutted’_ at him from above. Janna ran to grab the real Star before she hit the ground as he let the blades stained with his wife’s blood fall from his limp hand.

“You son of a—!”

“How could you?!”

Marco backed away as both Toms turned on him, two sets of eyes blazing red so it was impossible to tell the difference. The second Star, the one who had fed him pretty words to the point where he was fooled, threw back her head and laughed. A hard, cruel laugh she had never been so heartless to exert, and yet sounded so unmistakably like her.

“Couldn’t even tell the difference! You’re a disappointment, King Marco.”

Dropping to the ground, Marco rolled under the two demon kings who had cornered him against a tree and snatched up his scissors. Slashing the blades so they extended, he wound up the sword over his shoulder — and with an enraged roar, flung it at the fake Star where it lodged square in her chest. Screaming his wife’s scream, the imposter’s form flickered like a broken television screen before vanishing in a blinding flash of light, leaving his sword stuck upright in the dirt.

“They’re… like holograms.” With a yelp, he felt himself being dragged up from the ground, one of the Toms hoisting him into the air.

“You were the one person I trusted to never hurt her!” Tom hollered, shaking him violently.

“Janna—!” Marco was cut off, ducking as the other demon sent a very real fireball at his head.

“You’ll pay for this! I’ll have you executed!”

“Oh yeah?! Come over here and say that!” Marco taunted, finally catching on. “Finish me off yourself!”

“I’ll finish you off however I want!”

“Janna, that one’s the fake!” He whipped his head around at the witch, who was hastily slathering some sort of ointment concoction onto Star’s wound.

“Are you kidding me?!” Janna shrieked. “You think I’m gonna listen to your shitty judgement after _this?!”_

“The fake ones can’t touch us,” Marco winced as the Tom he presumed to be real clutched him tighter in place. “I promise, Janna, I know I’m right this time.”

“Forget it, I don’t trust you!”

 _“I_ do,” Star panted from the ground, pressing her hand over her bleeding shoulder as she stared her down. Janna stood up, looking at her in disbelief before shifting her amber gaze between the two forms of her husband. They were both so overdramatically consumed by rage at Star’s injury that even she couldn’t know for sure who was who.

_‘I’ll finish you off however I want’..._

But her Tom wouldn’t kill Marco. Threaten to, definitely. But wouldn’t actually strike him a deadly blow. Those days were far behind them.

_“Do it, Janna!”_

Before she knew it, her machete was in her hand and she ran at the Tom with fire in his palms, plunging the blade so forcefully into his stomach that nothing but the hilt protruded. He gasped as blood seeped from the impalement. For one horrifying moment the world froze around Janna, tears springing to her eyes, certain she had made a fatal mistake…

And then he stumbled away from her, his body flickering rapidly as his scream dissolved into white noise. As the fake Tom exploded into light like Star had, the canopy above them opened and the stones blocking their path receded back into the ground.

“Congratulations,” the androgynous voice drifted down to them. “You’ve survived the second trial of the Triad.”

“Barely,” Star muttered, hovering a warm white glow from her hand over her shoulder, new skin forming over the congealed flesh. Then she saw Marco’s devastated face and instantly regretted her blunt tone.

Tom had let go of Marco as if forgetting why he was mad at him in the first place, rushing to his wife who was still staring at where the double had disappeared. “Jan? Babe, you okay?”

Janna’s breaths came out short and fast, her hands shaking so badly they couldn’t grip anything. She had never killed anyone before, not hand-to-hand like that. Some enemies may have met their fates by curses she’d cast in their direction, but she never stuck around long enough to find out. This had been so immediate and real. And worst of all, it wasn’t just anyone — Janna had stabbed _Tom._

“Hey — hey, c’mere.” He turned her around, holding her face so she was looking right at him. “That wasn’t me. I’m real, I’m right here.”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Janna nodded, wiping her eyes on the heel of her hand. “I know it’s you.” But it was still several minutes before she stopped shaking. Dark borderline sick Janna, who thrived on the disturbing and obscure, who laughed at the torture scenes in movies, about to crack over a little bloodshed.

Tom’s chin quivered, and it was clear to see he was also visibly shaking. But he didn’t let his wife see it for long; pulling her into an embrace and sighing heavily. Janna rubbed her leftover tears away with the fabric of her husband’s shirt, holding on for a few moments before they both got a head start down the path, with Tom’s arm around her shoulders protectively.

Meanwhile, Star and Marco were left alone to settle… whatever had just happened.

“This is a dumb question, but,” Marco sighed, unable to maintain eye contact with her, “Are you okay?”

Star cringed, rolling her shoulder a bit to alleviate the tingling pain. “I’m fine,” she replied, and this time she was telling the truth.

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “Star, I’m so, so sorry,” he muttered. “I can’t believe I did that— that I hurt you,” His eyes were screwed shut, he was physically shaking, about to fall to his knees, and then he felt Star’s hands, gently lifting up his face so they could look at each other.

“Hey,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Marco urged. “I hurt you.”

Star hesitated, then shrugged. “I know you didn’t mean it,” she said. “I wasn’t myself. If I was, then—”

“Don’t you _dare_ blame yourself,” Marco said, his voice thick with tears. “Star, listen, you did nothing wrong.” He shook his head, trying to hold back his urge to cry. “Everything that’s gone wrong on this mission has involved me— w-we wouldn’t be in this mess if I hadn’t royally screwed up!”

 _“Marco,”_ Star said sternly.

However, he blatantly ignored her; “The girls are gone, and could be _‘gone’_ gone, and I hurt you—”

“Marco!” Star hollered over him. “Shut up!” She breathed deep for a few seconds, then shook her head. “Sorry, but I can’t listen to you talk like that. You made some mistakes, and yeah, sure, they were kinda big, but don’t you remember all the screwups I did when we were kids? Did I constantly apologize?”

Marco paused, then shrugged. “Kinda,” he said. “But not really?”

Star nodded. “Exactly,” she affirmed. “I didn’t waste time apologizing because I was too busy trying to fix it!” Her voice grew low and gentle, “And that’s what you’re doing. You’re fixing your mistake.” She gave him a wan smile, “Mess-Up Twin.”

Marco’s lips trembled as he did his best to return it. “That’s why I can’t go back to the castle, even if I wanted to.”

“And my crowning moment of stupidity was thinking for a second that you’d listen to me.”

“Star…” His heart broke, watching her wide childlike eyes fill with tears, and she turned to pick at her healing shoulder so he wouldn’t see.

“I’m the one who’s sorry, Marco,” she gulped, hanging onto his hand as he pulled it away from her wound. “I just...I…”

“It’s just me,” he whispered, noting Tom and Janna had kept their distance several feet away. “Go ahead, Star. We’re alone.”

Shutting her eyes, thick salty tracks washed over her rose heart emblems as she seized him around the waist. Just for a few minutes, sheltered underneath this forest canopy, the queen didn’t want to be a stoic pillar of strength. She couldn’t, not every moment of every day. That had been her mother, not her. It just wasn’t who she was, no matter how hard she pretended. And Marco was there every time she needed those few minutes, bearing her heartache along with her. What had she ever done to deserve someone like him?

“I’m scared, Marco,” Star confessed through muffled sobs, practically feeling her heart breaking for her poor daughter, for Tom and Janna who had also done nothing to deserve any of this torment, and for the young man who cradled her now. “I’m so, _so_ scared.”

“Me too,” he hushed, a part of him just contented that she was in his arms again, despite the circumstances. “But we’re gonna find them. Together.”

“I know… but what happens when we do?”

 


	4. Chapter 4

_“Sleepytime Snuggle Shelter!”_ On Star’s command, a fully-pitched purple tent materialized from her wand over their heads in a puff of glittering smoke. Marco, Tom and Janna all swiftly dove out of the way before the tent crashed onto them, staking itself neatly into the snow-covered ground.

“There — one for you,” the Mewnian queen said pleasantly, tapping the apex with the wand head, and red horns appeared to signify it was the Lucitors’. “And one for us.” Another tent, this one in royal blue, dropped a few feet beside the purple one with a little gold crown at the top.

“Great,” Janna muttered gloomily, her teeth chattering as she drew Tom’s cape tighter around her shivering frame. “Just perfect. Tom’s gonna be the only one left after the rest of us freeze to death.”

Her husband leered irritably at her before snapping his fingers, causing the pile of sticks he had thrown together on the ground to ignite instantly. “Happy?”

“No.”

“Fine, you wanna go back home then? Oh wait, _you’re_ the one who said you weren’t going back without Lily. So make up your mind, Janna.”

“Thank you, Star,” she said over-politely, ignoring Tom. “It’s… cute.”

“It’ll get us through the night at least,” Marco added, emerging from the inside of the blue tent after a brief walk-through. “But Janna’s got a point, it’s as cold in there as it is out here.”

“We could all take turns snuggling with Tom,” Star suggested.

“You won’t wanna — he kicks in his sleep,” Janna remarked, “I’ve just gotten used to it.”

“Besides, this is way easier…” The demon held up his hand and little flames sparked from all four of his long-nailed fingertips. “Here, use these over your tent,” he nodded at Star and Marco, “I’ll take care of Janna.”

Star held out her wand, letting the flames catch like the wick of a candle until the entire head glowed like a burning torch. “Thanks,” she nodded with a slight smile.

“And now for the Earth Turd’s contribution,” Marco announced proudly, holding out what looked like a bag with a belt looped through.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Janna scowled over at him. “Not your stupid fanny packs. We’re in the middle of an enchanted forest in a dimension light years from Earth!”

“Oh c’mon, it’s all still nature. And this baby’s got everything you need: Bug spray, first aid, deck of cards—”

“Yeah, our daughters will be so glad to know we played several rounds of poker while they were being held hostage,” Tom rolled his eyes, yet snatched the pack from him anyway. “To be fair, the bug spray might be useful.”

The flames on the bonfire shifted to one side, licking dangerously close to where Janna sat pouting as a chilling winter wind blew through. Star shivered as the cold cut right through her armor, while Tom flung out his arm to redirect the fire away from his wife.

“This forest has a mind of its own,” Star muttered solemnly, burrowing herself in Marco’s warm chest as his arms shielded her. “It’s like it doesn’t want us here.”

“Well, we’re not gonna get any more searching done when it’s pitch dark like this,” her husband said. “And even if we did use my scissors to leave, we could wind up anywhere in the forest trying to get back — and totally lose track of our path to the girls.”

“If this even is the right path,” Tom countered, staring at the ground in dejection. “I mean, what if this is all just a huge trick? Or worse, _a trap?”_

“Don’t say that,” Star said firmly, glancing over at him and Janna, who remained silent and still. “We can’t start thinking like that. It’s getting darker, colder and more dangerous. That means we’re getting closer, I know it.”

Marco sighed deeply, resting his cheek against the top of Star’s head. “It’s best if we stay put for the night.”

For several wordless moments, the four of them just glanced around at each other. They all looked like they had aged twenty years since entering the forest earlier that day. Dirt-streaked faces, everything from deep cuts to Star’s gash marring their skin, and worst of all, tired, fearful and devastated eyes gazing back from every one of them. And like the public-pleasing monarchs they were, each of them had their own ways of hiding it: Tom’s rage-filled determination, Marco enhancing the morale while seldom following it himself, Janna’s indifferent scowl and sarcasm, and Star’s queenly stature and feigned repose that scarily reminded them all of the late Moon the Undaunted.

“One of us should always be up — ya know, on the watch, just in case,” she piped up. “Tom, you mind going first?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he nodded, fleetingly wondering if Janna would be warm enough without him near. Then he saw her deliberately look away when he tried to catch her eye, and bit back a growl. _Forget it, she can deal for a few hours._

“Well… g’night, I guess.” Star shrugged herself out of Marco’s arms and shuffled through the blanket of snow over to their tent. “Please try and rest, guys,” she added over her shoulder, her tone laced with almost motherly concern.

“Yeah, you too,” Janna replied impassively, shifting herself away so she didn’t have to look at Tom. And of course, once Marco followed his wife into the blue canvas, she was stuck with no one else _but_ him.

“Jan— Janna, give me your hands, they’re fucking _blue,”_ Tom insisted, grabbing his wife’s hands, but still refusing to look at her. His voice lowered, and he slouched a little so they could lean in close to one another, perhaps for either warmth or a solemn embrace. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, a-and I don’t know why.” He gently intertwined their fingers, until the normal, soft tan color bloomed to life on Janna’s skin. “I just wanna make sure you’re safe, okay?”

“Whatever,” Janna muttered, yanking her hands away once she had feeling in them again. Her brown eyes were a darker, almost gloomy black in the nonexistent lighting of the chilling forest, and she glanced up at Tom for only a second. “I’m fine.”

Tom sighed, returning his attention to enhancing the fire.

“It’s not just about Lily being gone, is it?” he asked, breaking a twig in half and using his hands to start up a flame but not burn the stick to a crisp.

Janna gave an apathetic shrug, turning towards their makeshift shelter. “I’m gonna get some rest, I guess,” she muttered. “We’ll sleep in shifts, right? I-I don’t know, whatever Star said…”

She was barely looking at him. They were just a few steps apart, but it felt like such a long distance. Tom kept poking at the fire, taking a moment just to glance at his wife— and the spark faded. His fire went out, and he growled, his anger summoning an even bigger, stronger flame.

He cleared his throat, focused on the fire instead of Janna and nodded.

“Me, then Marco, then you, and finally Star,” Tom confirmed.

“Got it,” Janna sighed. “Good night,” She was just about to sneak into the tent without another word, but realized she never slept well if she didn’t say one final, sweet thing; “Love you.”

Tom looked up, his anger subsiding, his shoulders relaxed and the smallest smile making its way on his expression. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Good night. Love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Using the flames Tom had lent out to them, Star had been able to cast a heat spell over the pitched tent so their less than luxurious lodgings for the night would be, while not cozy, at least room temperature against the biting winter frost outside.

“Take off your armor, Star,” Marco insisted, “How’re you gonna sleep in that?”

“Assuming I sleep at all,” she muttered, wrapping her wand in her scarf to keep it protected as Marco did the same with his scissors.

“C’mon, no one’s gonna attack us in the middle of the night.”

Blowing an exasperated raspberry out of her lips, Star removed the iron clamped snugly around her slender form until she wore nothing but her light blue slip as Marco stripped down to his long underwear. As they continued to prepare to retire in silence, Star unpinned her gold tiara and let her blonde tresses fall loosely over her shoulders. Now the warrior queen looked just like everyone else, a victim of the natural elements surrounding them on all sides.

Marco grabbed his fanny pack and unzipped it, rummaging around inside before withdrawing a vacuum-compressed package. “Space blanket for two,” he said, the corners of his mouth upturning ever so slightly as he opened it, and the soft blanket inflated instantly.

Lying down on the tent floor wearily, Star closed her eyes as Marco threw the blanket over her first before sliding down beside her. As they snuggled close so their bare skin wasn’t exposed to the cold, he saw her lips were slightly blue as they both shivered against each other. Linking their icy fingers together, each breathed on the other’s hands to keep them warm until their bodies had adjusted to the tolerable temperature inside their shelter.

“Are you okay?” Marco whispered, his forehead touching hers as they lay facing each other.

“No,” Star shook her head. She was too tired, too wracked from the stress and pain, and too ready to dissolve into tears at any moment to lie to him even if she wanted to. “I can’t be okay with my baby gone.” Like a distant call on the wind, she could almost hear Pandora’s high-pitched laughter, feel her squishy little body nestled against her chest, giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek with a happy cry of _“Mama!”_ She didn’t know what she would do if she never saw her face or heard her sweet voice again. All she knew was that her heart wouldn’t be whole until her daughter was back safe and sound.

She heard a sniffle and opened her eyes, feeling her husband slip his arm around her waist and pull her into an embrace. Wordlessly, Marco buried his face in her collarbone and Star felt his breaths become heaving and finally sobbing. The guilt of losing the children had eaten away at him so much, and she cradled his head as he collapsed from keeping up a courageous front for so long.

“I’ll never forgive myself… ever.”

Star only shushed him as he wept quietly. “We have to believe they’re alive,” she said brokenly, her throat clogged and burning, fighting desperately not to break down as well. “We _have_ to.” It was all she could do to console him and herself. She couldn’t say it was going to be alright, none of them knew that. All she could say was what she knew was completely true. So she kissed the side of his head, her nose nestled in his thick dark hair. “I love you so much, Marco Diaz…”

“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.”

 

* * *

 

The demon king broke some more branches over the bonfire blazing between their two tents, tossing them in almost angrily as he examined the positions of the moons. It was late; dawn would probably break in a few hours and then they were off once more. To whatever this endless Forest Of Certain Death had in store for them. Death would probably be easier than this: Fighting strange creatures, braving the winter, sleeping on the ground, facing the possibility that their mission was in vain. That maybe they were already too late to save their girls…

A rustling from the blue tent broke through Tom’s tortured thoughts and he saw Star emerge wrapped in several blankets Marco must have brought along. Or she created them with magic. He gave her a slight nod as she came closer, “Thought Marco was next on the watch.”

“He’s asleep,” Star replied, settling herself down beside him and shivering when her legs touched the snow. “I’m just gonna leave him be. He…” An exhale blew from her lips, her breath like fog in front of her face. “He’s really beating himself up about this.” She deliberately left out the fact that he’d cried himself to sleep in what had been a very private moment between them.

Tom had thought he heard some quiet sobs in their tent earlier, but didn’t say anything about it. “Yeah, Janna’s knocked out too. Looks like it’s just you and me.”

He turned to share a smirk with her, but Star had her elbows propped on her bent knees, covering her face with her hands. She never looked up, and Tom saw her mouth twist in anguish as her shoulders quaked silently. Making sure his hands weren’t overheated, he reached over and placed his arm around her shoulders, holding it there firmly as the rock solid composure of the warrior Queen of Mewni fractured.

“I’m sorry I yelled at him,” Tom whispered, unsure if she was listening as she whimpered as softly as she could. “At both of you. I-I’m not really mad at him for losing track of the girls, I’m just… mad that this happened.” He paused. “Mostly scared.”

“I’m terrified,” Star finally managed to choke out, smearing tears over the hearts on her cheeks as she revealed her blotchy face. “Her birthday’s in two days, ya know? Pandora’s is. We had this party planned—”

“That’s right,” Tom remembered with a sharp pang to his chest. “Aw, Star…”

“Now I just want her alive and unharmed.” Her face crumbled as she scrubbed it dry on the blankets draped around her. “I-I don’t even know if she’ll make it to four years old! No parent should ever have to worry about that!”

Tom closed his eyes in silent understanding, squeezing her shoulder as she finished her much-needed cry. “You’d do anything to hold her again,” he voiced his own sentiments aloud. “And you’d take her place in a second.”

“I love her so much,” Star sobbed weakly, “and I feel like it was never enough.” Snuffling, she swiped the corner of the blanket under her nose, turning her red-rimmed eyes to him. “Thanks. For being here and… listening to me.”

“Of course,” the demon assured her. “Got nothin’ better to do anyway. Janna won’t talk to me about what’s bugging her, and I’m…” He trailed off, staring off into the distance for a moment before a rueful laugh broke through his throat. “I’m just a mess. I’ve been a mess since the start. I felt like I was doing alright for awhile, holding it together for my kingdom and my family. And then this just — _broke_ something in me and I’m back to square one.”

“Hey,” Star said softly. “You’re doing great, okay? I’m sorry we lost Lily, I know how much she means to you.”

Tom silently nodded, poking at the ground with a spare twig.

Star nudged him, then gave a tiny grin. “Awkward bestie hug?”

“Would Diaz get mad if he woke up and saw it?” Tom laughed, especially when the Mewnian queen playfully punched him in the arm. “Alright, alright, awkward bestie hug.” He reluctantly accepted the bear hug from his closest friend and sighed. “You’re a good person, Star. You know that, right?”

Star nodded. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “You are too.”

Tom huffed. “All the fire and the bad temper says otherwise,” he retorted as they pulled apart from their hug. “But I guess I get points for trying.”

They both sat there, side-by-side, staring at the fire with bittersweet smiles before the demon king spoke up.

“Star?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to do something for me,” Tom sighed. “If Janna and I don’t make it through this, but you and Marco do, take care of Lily for us. Promise me that.” He looked at Star sincerely, then gave a tiny smirk. “But if you turn her into a Safe Kid, I’ll rise up and haunt you forever.”

Star spluttered out a laugh, full of newly sprung tears. “Y-yeah, of course. I promise,” she said. “And, y’know, same here. If… if something happens to me and Marco— you get it.”

Tom nodded. “Got it,” he assured.

“Uh, go get some sleep,” Star mumbled. “Janna’s probably getting cold. I’ll take it from here.”

“You sure?” Tom asked.

Star nodded. “Y-yeah, I got a flask of coffee with me, I’ll be good,” She paused, then shrugged. “Besides, I can’t sleep anyway, not knowing where my baby is. I don’t think I’ll rest ‘til I see her again, you know?”

Tom paused, then got up, placing a hand on Star’s shoulder. “I get what you mean,” he sighed. “Good night, Star.”

“G’night, Tom,” Star mumbled, staring at the fire in front of her.

 

* * *

 

They didn’t remember falling asleep or even crawling back into their tents when they awoke the following morning. Nor were they awakened by twittering birds or the harsh rays of morning sunlight as they expected.

It was a shrill scream that sent Tom tucking and rolling out of his tent, while Star and Marco took longer to untangle themselves from the space blanket before they made it outside. Janna, who had been last on the watch, held her long blue-black hair away from her body as the ends went up in flames.

“What the hell did you do?!” Tom shouted.

“I was trying to put out your fire!” his wife yelled back, gesturing with her other arm to the bonfire, which hadn’t died down in the slightest since the night before.

“It’s demon fire, you can’t just put it out like you’re at camp! Gods Jan, you know that by now!” Tom continued to rage as Marco grabbed a handful of snow and flung it at Janna’s hair, causing her to drop it in surprise. With another bloodcurdling scream, her shirt ignited as well.

 _“Shimmering Shower Splash!”_ Star bellowed, pointing her wand at Janna, a wave of water spouting from the crest. In a sizzle of steam the flames died down, leaving the ends of Janna’s hair charred and frizzed with her shirt collar to her left shoulder burned and torn. Tom had already extinguished the bonfire himself before marching towards them.

“Thank you,” he said to Star out the corner of his mouth, watching Janna tie her wet frayed hair back into its messy bun with a sigh.

“Guess I’m goin’ back to my short cut, huh?” She smirked up at Tom, who wasn’t laughing, and her amber eyes narrowed. “What’s your problem?”

“What were you thinking, Jan?!” he exploded. “I enchanted that fire specifically so it would burn all night! You need _magic_ to put it out!”

“Uh ya, what do you think I was doing?” the witch rolled her eyes, holding a now half-empty violet potion bottle in her fist.

“The Anti-Arson? Really?” Tom bit out, folding his arms over his chest. “The one you said was going bad right before we left?”

“Oh shit…” Janna trailed off, clutching a hand to her hair in realization. “I _did_ say that. All this forest crap goin’ on and I totally forgot.”

“It’s okay,” Marco said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We got it under control. Well, Star did.”

“Gotta fight magic _with_ magic,” Star sang out, twirling her wand like a baton for emphasis.

“Yeah, thanks.” Janna managed a half-smile at her friends before facing Tom again begrudgingly. “I screwed up, okay? I’m not perfect. Sorry.”

“Tom?” Marco asked, watching the demon king mutter to himself as he clamped his armor back on. “It’s over, dude. Let’s just move on.” He didn’t answer, just swung his cape around his shoulders with unnecessary force, and now Janna was pissed.

“Tom! Get over it already, I’m fine!”

“You should’ve gone home,” he finally shot at her. “Star was right.”

“No I wasn’t!” Star cried out incredulously. “If Janna wasn’t here, you’d still be fighting off your hologram lookalike thingy!”

“And without Janna, we never would’ve figured out which path leads to the girls,” Marco added. “We’d still be going in circles!”

“And if the three of us weren’t here, she would’ve died from burns!” Tom countered angrily.

“I would not! I learned stop, drop and roll in kindergarten for cryin’ out loud! Plus, there’s snow on the ground!”

“And then what?!” He paused, swallowing hard as he fought to keep his rage at bay, all three of his eyes focused only on Janna, deliberately ignoring the other two’s indignant faces. “We know The Triad’s got one more trial in store for us, then who knows what we’ll have to face after that. And I don’t need you not knowing if the spells in your arsenal are strong enough until it’s too late.”

Janna dropped the potion bottle over the smoldering branches, where it blew up in a small puff of smoke. “There, it’s gone. It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t.” She gasped as he grabbed her and began to pull her down the path, “‘Cause I’m not gonna let you out of my sight until we find Lily.”

“I can take care of myself, Thomas!” Janna snapped, yanking his grip off of her arm. “Stop treating me like I’m weak!”

Tom’s eyes instantly lit up with fury, and he growled, stomping ahead of the group.

“Tom?!” Janna hollered. “Tom, _you little—!”_ She let out a groan of exasperation, chasing after her husband. “What’s your problem?! What did I do?!” They disappeared ahead, into the thick of the forest, nothing to be seen or heard except tiny flames and voices rising.

Star blanked, glancing at Marco. “Should we—?”

Marco shook his head. “Let them figure this one out,” he said. “They need to.”

His wife gave him a small wary nod in agreement as she took up her wand again to pack up their campsite and prepare for another long day of searching.

 

* * *

 

“You got a lotta gall, treating me like that! Especially in front of them!”

Silence.

“I don’t care if your family has a history of ordering its queens around, that ends with me! You got that?!”

Still not a word.

“Tom!”

“What do you want?!” he exploded, finally whirling around to face her after several minutes of walking with her nagging in his ear like an irritating fly.

“Cut this possessive crap out _now,”_ Janna insisted through gritted teeth. “I’m your wife. I’m next to you, not underneath you.”

“I know you’re my wife, that’s why this is so hard!”

“What’s so hard?! Not treating me like a little kid instead of a grown-ass thirty-year-old woman?!”

“No—!”

“You think ‘cause Lily’s not here you get to boss me around instead?!”

 _“That’s not it!”_ He roared so loudly that the very trunks of the trees shook, causing dozens of dead leaves to shake loose from the branches and fall onto the snow around them. And still they stood, face-to-face and unflinching, Tom’s hands ablaze, as if they had done this a million times. In almost seven years of marriage, it felt like they had.

“Do you know why I’m so protective of you, Janna?” Tom hissed, backing away slightly as the flames on his hands continued to rise. “Do you know why I want you to go back, why I’m still fucking pissed that you couldn’t answer that stupid sphinx’s question on the first try?!”

Janna’s temper was clearly rising as well and she frowned. “Because that’s just the way you are, I guess!” she snapped. “Gods, Tom, I don’t have time for your bullshit right now—”

Tom let out a haughty laugh, with just a hint of growl behind it. “You really think that’s it?”

“Look, I don’t know, and I don’t really care what your agenda is here, we have bigger problems to worry about,” Janna argued. “Like, I don’t know, our daughter being missing and who knows what kind of torture she might be going through?!”

“Listen to me,” Tom said, his voice low, and he leaned in, almost towering over his wife. Yet despite his fearful demeanor, his voice couldn’t have been more broken. “I almost lost you once, I am _not_ going to go through that again. That’s why I’m so protective over you. All the time, but especially now.”

Janna’s face instantly fell. “What are you talking about?” she muttered.

Tom heaved out slow, deep breaths, running his hands through his hair. “Three years ago. Friday, June 13th.”

It took a moment before the statement registered in Janna’s mind. “What does Lily’s birthday have to do with anything?” she asked.

“That was the day I almost lost you,” Tom deadpanned. “Jan, you were so close to dying during labor. I… I—” He sighed, letting his eyes fade back to normalcy. He looked at his wife sincerely, painfully. “I’m never, ever going to forgive myself for putting you through that. I love Lily, don’t get me wrong, a-and it wasn’t her fault, but she almost killed you because you’re human a-and… gods, she practically clawed her way out, and you lost _so much blood.”_ Was he crying? He didn’t even know it until the tears began to steam off his hot face. “So yeah. That’s why you’re my weakness, w-why I just want you to be safe. I often took you for granted before that. Now I… I don’t.”

Janna was still and quiet, staring at the ground now. She swallowed hard when Tom reached out, cupping her face, stroking his thumb against her cheek.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” he mumbled. “You just mean so, _so_ much to me. I love you, Janna. I know that sometimes it might seem like I don’t, but—”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Janna whispered, her voice full of pain.

Tom paused, then shrugged. The haunting image of seeing Janna’s face white as a ghost, her body unresponsive and limp would never leave his memory; a constant reminder of how supernatural their relationship really was, how dearly he had to cherish every moment he had with her. He knew very well human and demon relations weren't uncommon but typically didn’t last long. He wanted— no, _needed_ this to last. Janna meant too much to him. Tom dared to think of her as his soulmate.

“I… I didn’t want you to resent our daughter, I guess? A-and I know that you always hate when I fuss over you.” He faltered with his words, shaking his head, “I don’t know—”

“Shut up,” she muttered, reaching up to take his hand and intertwine their fingers.

She didn’t say anything else and caved in, burying herself against him in a hug, softly crying against his chest. It was seldom Janna cried around anyone, especially Tom… the years they had been together were so precious, but sometimes so incredibly rocky.

“I love you too, you idiot,” she grumbled against his chest, practically squeezing him in their bittersweet embrace. “And I’m not going anywhere. There’s no way you’re getting rid of me that easily.”

 

* * *

 

As Star and Marco finally caught up with the other couple, they stood a ways back to let them have a moment.

“Is it warm out here, or is that just me?” Marco asked softly, loosening the cape around his collar.

“Yep, and I think I know why,” Star nodded forward with a smile, pointing to where Tom and Janna stood locked in an intimate embrace. A warm glow of heat seemed to be radiating from where they stood, melting the snow around them. For a couple of hellish demons, it was a rather beautiful sight that made Star sigh slightly in spite of herself.

Only for that tranquility to be interrupted by a familiar distant scream.

“Pandi!” she cried out at the sound.

“What?!” Marco turned sharply at her sudden shout. “What is it?”

“Didn’t you hear—?” A second scream, and Star’s wand was in her hand in an instant. “Right there!”

“It’s Lily!” Tom cried out, his gaze sweeping towards a path that veered to the left of Star’s focus, where another little girl’s scream had sounded.

“What’re you talking about?!” Janna cried, hanging onto his shoulders.

“She’s hurt! She could be being tortured!”

“Star, there’s no scream,” Marco stated patiently.

“Yeah there is!” his wife shrieked as Pandora’s third scream wafted towards her, and she couldn’t take it anymore.

“That’s not the path!” He reached out and grabbed her arm before she could run in its direction.

“But that's our baby!” Star yanked herself free, her eyes flashing. How could he not hear that? How was the sound of their daughter’s terror not ripping him apart inside? She shook her head disgustedly, _“Ugh_ screw you, I’ll find her myself.”

“Tom!” Janna hollered as her husband took off down one path while Star pounded down the other. She looked to Marco helplessly, “Did you—?”

“No. It’s gotta be another trap. Only it didn’t affect us for some reason.”

“Shit,” Janna muttered what had seemed to become her mantra over the course of their quest as the two of them set off after their terrified spouses.

 

* * *

 

Star plowed down the shaded path as Pandora’s screams continued to echo in her ears, nearly drowning out the sound of her own pounding heart and desperate panting. Wherever she was, whatever was causing her to scream out so terribly, her mother was prepared to do anything it took to make it stop. At last, she was going to see her child again and save her once and for all—

She stopped once she reached the scream’s source and looked down. “You’re — you’re not Pandora.”

But it was a small child, trembling in the snow at the base of a large shrub. It was neither Pandora nor Lily, in fact Star couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl. Long stringy hair covered their eyes, wrapped in a cream tattered garment that barely blocked out the winter’s chill, their skin blue and grey with cold.

“Are you alright?” Star asked, coming closer to the huddled soul. “Here, lemme help you.”

“Help...me?” the child shuddered.

“Sure, I can get you someplace warm,” the queen insisted. “My friends and I will take care of you.”

“But how? How can you help me…” And the child showed its face, wide golden eyes with no pupils nearly blinding Star as she stumbled backwards. “When you can’t even help yourself?”

“Lily!” But Tom’s cry was cut off before Star could warn him. Bizarrely, he was mouthing silently as he emerged from the other path, yet his expression showed he was clearly screaming furiously. And then she saw the prismed edges, the pointed angles — and realized he was trapped inside a transparent soundproof box. She could see him, but he could not see her.

“What’d you do to him?!” Star screamed.

“The same thing I will do to you.” The creature who had lured them stood calmly, unaffected by the environment and proving it was all just an act. “I am still small, so the enchantment that brought you here only works on those of magical blood.”

“That’s why Marco couldn’t—” She gasped, “Marco, don’t come down h—!”

But he was also trapped, halted several feet behind her, encased in his own prison. She rushed over and pounded on the wall of his cube, but he was too hypnotised by his surroundings to see or hear her.

“You sneaky little _twerp!”_

“You have no one to blame but yourselves,” the creature said simply. “If you had confronted these sooner, I would not even be here.”

“Confronted w—?” And once again, she became distracted as Janna sailed into view, unable to stop her before she found herself inside her own chamber. With the strength of twenty Mewmans, the child extended their hands outward, using unknown magic to levitate the witch’s box on top of the demon king’s.

“Let them go!” The Mewnian queen aimed her wand at the creature, who deflected her green blast immediately.

“You can’t save them from this,” the little one sang out, sliding Marco’s chamber across the ground until it crashed into Tom’s. “And they cannot save _you_ either…”

Before Star could aim another spell, she was thrown to the ground, the wand knocked from her hands, and every sight and sound disappeared.

 

* * *

 

In the distance, Marco could see walls. Thick, purple, almost translucent walls— and he was just about to make a break for it. That is until, a puff of glitter and smoke poofed right in front of him. As a product of that sudden explosion, everyone he had ever cared about appeared before him.

“Marco, _mijo,_ ” his father sighed.

“Dad?” Marco said, bewildered. He looked over, noticing tears in his mother’s soft green eyes. “Mom?” A part of him screamed no, _no,_ **_no_**. This wasn’t real. He knew that, he was smart enough.

But it felt real. They looked real, tangible, like he could reach out and hug them.

“Why haven’t you called, sweetie?” Angie pleaded. “We haven’t heard from you in so long.”

“We heard about what happened,” Rafael spoke up. “Have you become too busy fixing things to contact your own parents?”

Marco shook his head. “N-no!” he blurted out. “Wait, what happened?”

A huff. Bittersweet, thick, like it was full of tears. “You should know.” _Star._

Marco whipped around, noticing his wife glaring at him, holding Pandora on her hip. His daughter had been wounded, the spade marks on her cheeks scarred and bruised like someone had taken a blade to his little girl’s face.

“How could you let this happen to her?” Star snapped.

“I… I’m sorry,” Marco whispered. “Pandi?”

He reached out, and Pandora screamed, burying her face into her mother’s chest, her wails becoming a constant, never-fading echo.

Marco backed away, noticing all four of them looking at him with some form of disapproval.

“Too busy being king,” his parents were mumbling.

“I told you to leave and never come back,” Star said, her voice so unlike her. “You don’t deserve to rule Mewni with me, or be near our daughter anymore.”

Was it possible for heartbreak to be an actual, physical ache?

“You failed, Marco Diaz,” Star went on. “As a son, a father, a king and husband.”

“No,” Marco whined pitifully. “No, no, I can fix this!” He looked between his parents and his new family, feeling his eyes water. “I’m sorry, Mom, Dad, S-Star, please—!” He realized he was physically stuck in place as they all began to walk off, and he put a hand over his heart, realizing that yes, indeed, he was in actual pain from what was going on.

He let out a sob, falling to his knees.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, shaking with every breath and cry he managed to heave out. “I didn’t mean to fail like _this_ …”

He didn’t even notice the smoke fading, and Star’s identical chamber right up above him, where she was slashing her sword against the walls and her painful cries went unheard because of the barrier.

 

* * *

 

“Marco!” Star shrieked, watching in horror at the scene down below; her husband, her best friend, broken down because of a false reality. “Marco, no! I — I’m right here!” She fumbled with her wand, aiming it at the wall and yelling the first spell that came to mind; _“Rocket Cupcake Blast!”_

Cupcakes in the shape of tiny missiles clattered against the wall, fell to the floor and combusted in the prison. Star ducked, coughing at the smoke and freezing in shock as she noticed a familiar figure come through the ashy clouds.

“Star, get up.”

That voice.

Star began to shake, and she swallowed hard.

What in the name of Mewni was going on? Was she going crazy?

“Star. Get up.”

She felt a strong, assuring hand on her shoulder, a lump forming in her throat and her heartbeats increase… _no_. Despite her mind yelling at her to deny this, Star slowly got up and accepted the outstretched gloved hand.

There was a kiss on her cheek, a hitched breath. “Oh sweetheart, what happened?”

Star struggled to open her eyes and realize who was standing in front of her.

“Look at me, darling.”

“Mom,” Star mumbled.

This was a trick of The Triad. It had to be. The final quest, the third challenge. But how could Star realize that, when before her stood her mother, healthy and happy as ever? Moon had some aging to her, a few silver streaks in her periwinkle hair with some wrinkles near her cheek emblems, but looked as if she was ready to fight beside her daughter. It was exactly how she had been before that dreadful illness claimed her life.

“I’ve missed you,” Moon said softly.

“I… I missed you too,” Star muttered. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her mother wasn’t ghostly or hovering before her like a spirit, but very real, full and fleshed. “It’s been so — _so_ hard without you.” Against her better judgement, as if hypnotized, the young queen leaned forward to wrap her in a tight embrace and never let her go again…

“I can see that. Considering the mess you’ve made.”

Star halted. “W-what?” She glanced up at Moon’s face, the stern lips pursed under narrowed half-lidded eyes surveying her. “What did I—?”

“You promised you would do better than I, and now look what’s happened,” her mother’s form reprimanded, making the current ruler of Mewni feel two feet tall and shrinking with every word. “So consumed by your duties that you couldn’t take care of your only child.”

“I-I couldn’t get away, there was so much!” The outlines of Moon’s form began to shimmer with sparkling dust and Star scrambled forward to grab her. It was like a thousand needles pricking her hands and she yanked them back, yet her mother remained. “I can’t always—!”

“Mama?”

 _Oh sweet Mewni, no._ Any walls she had put up to keep her emotions in check tumbled down as she whirled around, and there she was. Pandora, hugging herself as if she was cold, huge blue eyes glancing up at her like they did when she was in trouble.

“Mama, why won’t you play with me?”

“Mama has a lotta work to do,” Star replied almost dazedly. They’d had this exchange so many times. “We’ll play some other day.”

“You always say that,” Pandora sniffled, wiping at the overlarge tears rolling down her cheeks. “I miss you Mama, I want you back.”

“You will — you will, I’m coming for you, sweetie.” Again, she dropped to her knees to reach for her daughter, and again the deceiving sparkles stabbed at her fingers, leaving tiny drops of blood behind. “I love you, Pandi.”

“No you don’t!”

“I do, so much! But I have to be Queen, too!”

“I don’t want you to be Queen! I want you to be my Mama!”

“I can do both,” Star stated in a warbling uncertain tone. “I...I can…” Her eyes blurred as they darted between Pandora and Moon. “I miss you, Mom...I want you back.” _I just want you to be my mom!_ the young teenage princess had shouted during that pivotal year of her life. Everything came back full circle, and she hadn’t even noticed.

“How many times am I gonna have to cover for you?”

“Marco.” And now the tears overflowed as he appeared beside Pandora, the biting tone of his normally warm voice stabbing Star’s chest like a knife.

“Pandora needs her mother! And Mewni needs a queen that doesn’t spend her entire reign cleaning up the messes she made years ago!”

“I’m trying!” Star screamed, “I’m trying to do better!” _It’s not real...it’s_ **_not real_** _, Star._ But the paperwork, the treaties, all those conflicts to prevent, her family’s impatience… that was all so real it hurt. “We’re a team, Marco, in everything.”

“No, I’ve had it with you, Star,” he shook his head, nothing but cold ire in his deep brown eyes. “We all have.”

“Marco, _please!”_ She couldn’t help it — she lunged for him and the particles cut right through her armor, searing her arms as she shrieked, doubling over in pain.

 _“The Mewnian queen who never found the balance between her heart and her head,”_ the voice of the creature who had trapped her here mused. _“And the ones who pay most dearly are those you love.”_

 _“No!”_ She was nearly blinded as neon lights lit up the inside of her cube, one side pink, the other green. Screams echoed in her ears of those lost on the battlefield in the wars she’d led to victory. Pandora’s shriek was cut off as she vanished from view. Marco’s face grew gaunt and ashen as he clutched his right arm — and Star screamed shrilly as that purple tentacle that would haunt her forever burst from his shoulder.

“You have disgraced my memory, Star…”

“No — no Mom, I didn’t mean to.” Her breaths short and irregular as tears continued to pour forth, Star crawled towards Moon before lying prostrate on the ground in front of her; the ancient sign of respect for Mewnian royalty.

“I just wanted to make everyone happy… I never meant for anyone to get hurt…”

 

* * *

 

“Come on, you coward!” Tom howled. “Show yourself!” Someone had to have locked him in this endless cube, this never-ending prison of thick, indestructible walls and loneliness. Nothing but darkness outside as well.

Suddenly, a wave of water splashed him from up above, extinguishing the fireball in his hand. The smoke wisped in front of him, and he growled, trying to resummon the flames—

—only for a hand to reach out of the nothingness, the tiny smoke cloud and lunge at him.

Tom yelped, dodging the hand and realizing it was connected to somebody. A very familiar, very angry somebody.

“Janna?” he mumbled.

This was not his wife.

But the woman before him was furious, tears streaming down her cheeks, with an ugly burn mark in the shape of a hand on one side of her face. Oh, gods, _no_. Everything else looked just like Janna, though; the long ebony hair, amber eyes full of light, even her scowl.

“Fuck off!” she howled, making another lunge at him. _“How could you?!”_

Her fists banged against his chest — her height was on point too. This had to be the hologram game all over again, wasn’t it? Tom wanted to make sense of things, but he was too disturbed by the situation he was unexpectedly thrust into. It was his worst nightmare. And the cherry on the cake was Lily; his sweet, little Lily looking with horror and softly crying, holding her stuffed bunny.

Trying to block whatever hits Janna made at him, Tom couldn’t stop looking at his wife and daughter…

...or whatever versions of them this was.

“Jan— Janna, wait!” He grabbed her wrist glaring at her, his eyes ablaze. “What is _wrong_ with you?!”

“Get out of my life!” she shrieked, using her free hand to smack him across the face. “ _I hate you!_ Leave me and never come back, you worthless piece of shit!” She was crying in between her words, and Tom realized the mark of her smack was already fading on his face.

And Janna’s stayed.

Tom growled, shoving her away and covering his eyes, ignoring whatever screams and cries decided to echo in this sick, twisted prison he was trapped in. “No, no, no,” he muttered, his chest heaving as if he was taking on water. “This can’t be happening, this isn’t real, this isn’t real—”

A fire was starting around him, encircling him.

“This isn’t real,” he choked out one last time, before the smoke got in his lungs and he began to cough rapidly, without any room for breath.

The last thing Tom saw was a figment of Janna, holding Lily’s hand, dragging her away…

 

* * *

 

White walls. Endless nothingness. Blinding white. Janna sat cross-legged in the middle of it, gaze travelling everywhere at once. No way out. Nothing to attack. Nothing to harm nor comfort her.

There was _nothing_.

She didn’t even remember how she got here, what her and everyone else had faced before this... the others.

Where were they?

Janna felt like there was no time to think, no room to breathe. The blank, white nothingness was almost suffocating. She slowly got up, looking around at every angle. Again, nothing. No feasible escape whatsoever. No activity. This was a trick. It had to be. She began to walk, expecting to run into a wall, a sign, something… she wasn’t sure how far she had gone, but she was already getting impatient.

“What kind of torture is this?” she grumbled, before hollering to the empty hall; “Couldn’t even bother with some decor, huh? Some candles and coffins or something?”

Those weirdos in The Triad all had some sort of stupid metaphor or whatever to go with their question. But so far, Janna just found herself trapped. On the bright side, there was something coming into view.

It wasn’t until she approached the object did she notice what it was; a black table, simple, with a white plate on the tabletop. On the plate were what seemed to be two pills.

One pill, pink. The other, red.

 _“Choose wisely, human,”_ an omnipresent voice whispered. _“Others are watching.”_

Janna glanced up, and then noticed something that wasn’t there before. Tom, Star and Marco all looking at her through a window, puzzled. They were whispering amongst one another, shaking their heads and shrugging.

 _“The pink pill lets you go back to Echo Creek, back to a normal life,”_ the voice went on. _“A life in Suburbia. All of that magic and witch nonsense, you won’t have to do it anymore!”_

Involuntarily, Janna rolled her eyes at the very idea. She’d never go back to that normal life.

_“The red pill is pretty much a wild card. Could kill you, give you disease, who knows?!”_

As the voice began to maniacally laugh, Janna felt her heart drop. It was a catch twenty-two, a trap. She gulped, walking around the table and heading straight for the window. But none of them looked at her. She frowned, banging her fist on the heavy glass.

“Hey! You guys! Get me out of here!”

None of them were even making eye contact with her. What was this— some sort of twisted one-way window? Janna continued to bang on the glass, impatient before but now quickly becoming frightened. Why weren’t they looking at her? Couldn’t they see her in here, all alone and panicking?

“Star!” Janna screamed. “Star, it’s me! Janna Banana! Use that wand of yours and get me out of here!”

By some sick design, Star dissolved into nothing but sparkles and feathers right before Janna’s eyes.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, shaking her head. “What the _fuck._ ” This was slowly becoming torture alright. Just a completely unexpected version of it. “Diaz! Diaz, c’mon! Bust me out!”

Marco also ignored her, but had a different fate than Star. He turned on his heel, and walked away, hands in his pockets, so nonchalant. As if he hadn’t seen a thing, like one of his best friends wasn’t trapped in some sort of hellscape.

Janna swallowed hard, never feeling so scared and desperate in her life.

“Tom,” she said weakly, her punches against the thick glass now becoming nothing but light thuds. “Tom, babe. P-please.”

And so… he erupted into flames. Nothing.

Blackness on the outside, blinding white on the inside. Janna suddenly became enraged, turning back to kick the table upside down. Only for the table not to budge an inch, and leaving her big toe throbbing. Her breathing became unnaturally fast. Her blinking became erratic as she slumped against the wall where the mysterious mirror-window was, sliding down to the floor.

“I’m all alone in a white-walled room,” Janna muttered, her voice thick with the urge to break down and cry. “Dammit. Knew this would happen someday…”

With no one to witness her, Janna laid on her side, curled up and wailed her heart out.

 

* * *

 

_“Well? Do you think they’ve learned their lessons?”_

_“Let us review.”_

_“Do we have time for that? Haven’t we tortured them enough? We should just release them—”_

_“Says the one who pitted them against their doubles.”_

_“Those tricks were a little too cruel, don’t you suppose? You nearly drove the demon to madness.”_

_“Hush. What we don’t have time for is bickering. Their daughters will perish if we wait any longer. Let’s review, quickly, just to make sure all four of them have been broken… well, in the ways they needed to be.”_

_“The witch has learned to become vulnerable around others and with herself.”_

_“The Earthling will receive a thicker skin. He was long overdue for a reality check.”_

_“I would say that the Queen has grown up, one last time.”_

_“And the demon? He’ll never truly change, will he?”_

_“No.”_

_“But he_ **_did_ ** _become aware of his problems.”_

_“...let them go.”_

 

* * *

 

Her hand fumbling over the black tabletop, Janna struggled to raise herself to her knees as she reached for the pills. Which one, she wasn’t sure yet. But anything was better than the agony of watching her husband and friends abandon her there…

But when she felt the plate at last, her fingers closed around nothing. Tilting her head so she could see, she made to grab the pills again — and her heart jolted to her throat when her hand passed right through them.

“Wha—?” _Oh right. This isn’t real._

“Janna?”

That voice came from the opposite wall, now fogged over with thick condensation from her intense crying fit. She knew it was Star, but wasn’t sure if this was just another trick; a projection of her own unhappy terrified mind. And yet, crawling over to the voice and pressing her hand to the damp surface, a glimmer of hope gave her the courage to swipe the opaqueness aside.

“Star?” It really was her — the cuts and dirt smeared across her face and very real earnesty in her eyes and tone gave it away. “Where are you?”

“In the room next to you, apparently,” she shrugged. “Were you crying?”

“N—” Janna stopped, then lowered her eyes. “You know what you heard.” She raised her eyebrow at her friend’s own puffy bloodshot eyes. “You don’t look so hot yourself, Warrior Queen of Mewni.”

“Yeah, I-I totally fell for the Triad’s illusions, heh,” Star laughed ruefully at herself. “Not that they’re wrong… I mean, it’s all true. My mom _would_ be disappointed in me if she was here. And there’s times I think… Marco and Pandi would be a better family without me, too.”

 

* * *

 

“Janna! _Janna! Lily, wait!”_ Tom wheezed and flung himself forward through the blinding smoke, ready to risk life and limb to get his wife and child back. His pleas fell on deaf ears as he plowed forward, determined to reach the fog’s end.

Instead, he ran smack into a transparent wall — the end of the chamber he had been encased in. And the person on the other side was neither Janna nor Lily.

“Marco?” All three eyes squinted at him, cocking his head to the side as he surveyed him suspiciously.

“Tom?” Marco acknowledged back in equal caution. It was him alright; roughed up from twenty-four hours in the forest, rather than the overly glossy images of his parents and Star.

“You, uh… okay?”

“Not really.” Marco swiped his face dry with his wrist as Tom cleared his throat. It wasn’t the first time they’d been emotional in front of each other, but it was still awkward every time.

 

* * *

 

“So… basically this is like… facing our worst fears?” Janna assessed. “Or something?”

“I guess.” Star had never looked so downtrodden and beaten, curling her legs up into a fetal position Janna hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Hey look, they don’t call you Star the Benevolent for nothing. You spread yourself too thin ‘cause you care about everyone equally. You’re an open book, you always have been.”

“No, Janna you’re wrong.” The Mewnian queen sat up, her shoulders straightening, her head lifted off her chest. “I don’t care about everyone equally. ‘Cause I love Marco and Pandora and my parents and friends more than being Queen of Mewni. And if I could, I’d give it all up for you guys. If I had to choose… you all come first.”

“See?! That’s why I’m jealous of you!” Janna suddenly burst out in frustration, and Star jumped back from the wall. “You can make these huge declarations of love, you know exactly what you feel — even when you’re in denial, you know why. I can’t do that. And that’s why crazy Janna Ordonia with her spells and demon books is gonna be all alone someday.” She sniffled as more tears splashed down her front. “‘Cause she cares about people, but she can’t show it.”

 

* * *

 

“I hit her,” Tom rumbled, staring down at his shaking lilac hands. “It finally happened, I hit Janna.”

“No you didn’t,” Marco stated firmly, pointing his finger at him through the glass. “You wouldn’t, ever. You have more control over all that now, Tom.”

“More control, not total control,” the demon shook his head. “It could still happen. I could lash out at my wife, or my little girl.”

“It could. But it won’t, ‘cause you won’t let it. You’d protect them before you’d ever hurt them.” Marco’s voice broke, “That’s more than I could even do.”

“I’m sorry. Okay? I really am. I lashed out at you, too.”

“Except you were right about me,” Marco sighed out, pacing away from the wall to look at where the figures had vanished. “I’m totally unfit to rule Mewni, and I couldn’t protect my own daughter, let alone yours.”

 

* * *

 

“Janna, you’re so much more than that.” Star pushed her hand against the wall, feeling it soften like rubber elasticity. “You’re one of my best friends. You’re so loved, and I promise you’ll never be alone.” Her hand passed even further through the surface until she could almost reach over and hold Janna’s hand. “And you know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Janna whispered. “I’m still scared to be alone, but... not as much as I used to be.” Around her, the pure blinding whiteness of the walls began to disintegrate to reveal the forest once again. The more she thought of everyone who cared about her — Star, Marco, Tom, Lily and quite a few others — the faster her prison disappeared.

 

* * *

 

“Look, if you couldn’t keep up with us, you’d have been toast a day ago,” Tom insisted, pounding on the glass, Marco still with his back turned to him. _“Years_ ago, if we wanna go that far. But when it comes to what you need, you put your all into it. Whether it was becoming King of Mewni or the love of Star’s life, or a good dad.”

“I’ve done my best...I always have.” A loud cracking sound came from the purple walls around him, spiderweb-like indentations in them spreading and deepening. Marco started to catch onto what was happening, squeezing his eyes shut to blot out the echoing words the images had dealt him. “All I can _do_ is my best. ‘Cause I care about my responsibilities and I love my family.”

He whipped around at last, striding back to Tom. “And you—!”

 

* * *

 

“—need to quit beating yourself up over stuff you can’t control.” Janna dug her fingers into the rubbery surface as well, clamping her hand over Star’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be too busy to be a wife or a mother sometimes, and that’s okay. I get that, trust me. But you can’t be scared that people are gonna give up on you. ‘Cause...ya know...that’s not having enough faith in them.”

And suddenly the witch wasn’t touching the wall anymore, but Star’s actual metal shoulder plate. A gentle smile began to unfurl on Star’s face, letting the last of her tears roll down her cheeks as the neon walls around her shimmered like a weak television signal.

“I wasn’t — like — close with your mom or anything, but I knew her well enough,” Janna shrugged casually to compensate for that _‘mushiness’_ she hated so much. “She was proud of you. And wherever she’s at now, she still is.”

 

* * *

 

“I get angry,” Tom nodded in acceptance. “I’m always gonna get angry. But what I won’t do is let it define me.” He stood up taller, taking a deep refreshing breath as the smoke around him cleared, the walls of his chamber vanishing with it. “I’m the ruler of the Underworld, a friend, a husband and a father.”

“Between all that, you’re gonna get frustrated every day,” Marco added truthfully, listening to his own walls crumbling around him with immense satisfaction. “But the good stuff, like a romantic night with your wife or dancing around the bedroom with your daughter, those are the times that make it all worthwhile.”

 

* * *

 

“At the end of the day, Marco and Pandi are there. And they’re what I look forward to when I can take off my crown and... just be Star Butterfly again.”

With a resounding explosive crackling, like lightning in an open field, whatever remained of the four chambers disappeared in the glow of a blinding light. In its slow recession, the sunset could be made out over the Mewnian mountains that seemed worlds away. Just like everything that had made them lose their way, their fears and shortcomings they had now fully confronted, those all seemed to vanish away over the orange-pink horizon.

“I... think we did it,” Marco whispered. But there wasn’t any celebration, no congratulations from the third member of the Triad, not even a snippy comment from Janna on what a colossal waste of time this was. They just sat in silence — until Star lurched forward and wrapped Janna in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling the Lucitor queen grip her back just as tightly.

“C’mere you,” Tom mumbled, clasping his arms firmly around Marco, their armor clanging together as they embraced. Eventually their wives made their way over to them, and before they knew it, they were tangled in a four-way hug like kids who had just won a championship. Except instead of cheers, it was solemn sighing as hands tousled hair and nails dug into the fabric on backs, supporting and lifting each other up physically in ways they always had spiritually. It was awhile before any of them let go.

“We’re all in this together,” Star said quietly, giving Tom a final one-armed squeeze. “We have been for a really long time.” Taking up her wand, she raised it over her head, sending a triumphant shower of pink sparks into the sky like a single radiant firework lighting up the twilight. _“We_ rule this dimension. And there’s nothing we can’t tackle.”

With that, she stuffed the sacred Butterfly heirloom back in her belt. “Now let’s go get our girls.”

 

* * *

 

“Look!” Pandora thrust her arm through the bars of the oversized crib to point out the small dirtied window of their captor’s shack. Out in the landscape thinly covered in snow, from a considerable distance away, a shower of pink sparks exploded over the four moons before raining down upon the tree tops.

“What is it?” Lily asked, her upper fang picking at her lower lip.

“Pink sparks!” her friend explained eagerly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “That’s Mama’s magic! She’s coming!”

 _“What?”_ Both girls recoiled quickly from the bars as the evil reptilian woman swept into the room, clawing her long nails at the cracked spotted window pane. “That’s impossible.”

“I told you they would make it!” Pandora yelled defiantly, stomping her foot with her little fists balled at her sides. “Now they’re gonna save us — and _you’re_ gonna be in big trouble.”

“Shut your spoiled little mouth before I pry the silver spoon out of it myself!” Eris screeched, slamming her fist against the bars to silence the princesses. Whirling towards the shattered mirror, she waved a hand over her reflection, and with a _whoosh_ it became a window into the forest. Sure enough, Queen Star was determinedly leading the other three into the clearing, ever closer to her crumbling abode. And that previous certainty that they wouldn’t make it this far was replaced with what Eris could only describe as fear.

 _How?_ The Triad had failed. Not only had the monarchs gotten past them, but they only appeared to have gotten stronger — together and apart. And once the shock of the mystical creatures’ inability to stop her enemies wore off, only rage was left. Hot, boiling rage that nearly suffocated her, her chest swelling as her lavender eyes narrowed.

“That’s it.” Sweeping away from the cage, Eris dove for the wooden cabinet in a panic, shoving potion bottles onto their sides and even throwing some to the ground where they smashed into swirling magic and broken glass. With an inhuman growl, she closed her fingers over a bright blue bottle layered with dust and wrenched it out from the back row.

“If the forest won’t break them, then _I_ will.” Turning back to her captives, Eris wiggled the neck of the bottle between her thumb and index finger. “Who’s thirsty?”

“My mommy has that one!” Lily recognized, almost proud that she had remembered.

“Did your mommy tell you what it does?” Eris asked, her voice going up to a mocking falsetto.

“Nuh-uh…” Lily shook her head so fast her orange-red pigtails whipped around, shrinking back in fear once more as their captor drew closer.

 _“Good.”_ Flinging the door to the cage open, she snatched Pandora with lightning speed, slamming it shut again before Lily could slip out.

“Let me go!” the Butterfly princess screamed, writhing and kicking as hard as she could, but she was no match for Eris’ strength. Grabbing her by the hair to tilt her head back, the half-reptilian woman uncorked the bottle with her teeth as she tried to hold the shrieking brat in place.

“Open your mouth.”

“No!”

“ _I said_ drink up!” Eris then pinched Pandora’s nose closed, pouring a dollop of blue liquid into her wide screaming mouth. Once she was sure she’d swallowed, she dropped her to the ground, rounding back to the other child in the cage with a malicious grin.

“ _You’re next._ ”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Bursting into a forest clearing, the foursome sprinted across the grass slushed with melting snow, mud splattering their boots and calves. Given that they had barely slept a wink the night before, they should have been exhausted. But the rush of having gotten past the Triad’s tests fueled them, knowing they were now in the home stretch to finding their missing children.

“This way, keep going!” Star called, holding her wand out in front of her as the locator spell lit the way, the road before them lined with spade marks once more.

“Hang on, Lily,” Tom panted, gripping Janna’s hand tightly. “Daddy’s coming.”

“Please just let them be okay,” Marco pleaded under his breath. His wife overheard him and flung her other arm back, grasping his hand in hers as the cluster of trees up ahead grew closer…

_Sproing!_

Star and Marco were flung backwards as they rushed straight into an invisible barrier, sliding onto their backs with loud gasps and muddy squelches.

“Whoa, what’s happening?!” Tom cried out, he and Janna skidding to a halt just before they fell on top of them.

“Something’s — blocking our way!” Marco flung punch after kick at their unexpected obstacle, but all it did was ripple steadfastly in response.

“But the path—!” Star directed her spell forward, and her heart froze: The spade symbols stopped just before the rippling wall. “No — no, _nononono, no!”_

“Shit!” Janna spat out when she threw some acid-like yellow liquid at the barrier to no avail. “This should undo any shield spell, why isn’t it working?!”

_“Because it’s not a shield, little witch.”_

_“Another_ one?!” Star shrieked at yet a fourth echoing voice, her wand glowing green as she unsheathed her sword in the opposite hand. “I’m _really_ not in the mood for any more of this!”

The wall now rippled continuously, faster and faster until the waves began to spin in a swirling motion. And they finally understood, watching the rectangular barrier shape itself into a giant circle of bright green light.

“It’s a portal,” the quartet said together — and within the portal, a face appeared. She had unique angular features, half-Mewman and half-reptile with vaguely textured skin, long thin hair and narrowed bright violet eyes. And when she smiled, rows of pearly pointed teeth showed as she brought her clawlike hands together.

“Bravo, your most distinguished Majesties,” an amused silky voice slipped past the curled lips, making a chill slice through each of them, even though the air was mild. “It is indeed a portal.”

“Well get it outta the way!” Janna yelled impatiently, brandishing her machete. “We’re on a mission here!”

“Of course, to save your young heirs,” the figure in the portal nodded, drumming her fingers together. “You must miss them terribly. Or not, given how absent and _distracted_ you were when they disappeared.”

Her eyes leered directly at Marco, and his face twisted in fury, a hot bubbling rage ready to burst inside his chest.

 _“You,”_ he rasped out, whipping his scissors into their elongated form in a streak of golden light. “It was you, wasn’t it?!”

“Where are our daughters?!” Tom screamed at the taunting face in the portal, readying his fireballs as if he could fight her through the communication barrier. “What’ve you done with them?!”

“Oh, you _really_ don’t want to see this,” the reptilian woman slithered through her long forked tongue, shaking her head in mock sadness. “You see — once they served their purpose, I simply did away with them.”

“What do you mean?” Marco asked, gripping his sword swung over his shoulder tighter.

“I mean your darling little brats are _dead."_  

“She’s bluffing,” Janna snarled, squinting at her through narrowed dark eyes.

“Am I, Your Majesty?” their enemy huffed, raising a hand to her chest as if offended. “My work is done and I’ve gotten what I wanted. I have no reason to lie to you.”

Star folded her arms. “And what is it that you want?” she asked. “Who _are_ you?”

“Where are my manners?” The monstrous woman stopped, and gave a very proper curtsy. “I am Eris of Septarsis. Can’t say you’ve heard of me, Queen Butterfly, considering your — how should I put it? — ‘reputation’ with Septarians.”

Her grip tightened on her sword, free hand hovering over her wand. Star swallowed; “If you’re talking about Toffee, I did what had to be done. That was a long time ago, though.”

Eris sneered in disgust. “I must say, I think cold-blooded murder was a bit extreme—”

“It was _not_ cold-blooded,” Star gasped, only to be cut off by hysterical laughter from the villainous, vile vixen.

“Sorry, sorry,” Eris huffed out. “But ‘cold-blooded’? Lizard joke?” She snorted, rolling her eyes at Star. “I had always been told you had quite the sense of humor, my Queen, but perhaps the legends aren’t entirely true. Maybe you aren’t as skilled or selfless as they say…”

Star inhaled a sharp breath, then felt Marco’s hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “She’s messing with you. You got this.”

“Yeah,” Star mumbled, before returning her attention to their enemy, retaining her regal tone of voice. “You never answered my question, Eris of Septarsis. Why did you kidnap my daughter and Lily Lucitor? What could you possibly want them for? Revenge?”

“Revenge?” Eris asked, arching a thick eyebrow. “No no, not my flavor, Your Majesty. I simply want what’s rightfully mine.”

“And what is ‘yours’?” Star growled.

“You are of course aware of your daughter’s… erm, what’s the right word… _potential_. One of those infamous shameful royal secrets? Every Butterfly generation has had them.”

“It’s not shameful,” Marco bit out, stepping forward beside his wife. “There’s nothing shameful about having spades, just like there’s nothing wrong with being a monster.” His glare sharpened, “It’s your actions that define who you are.”

“Oh my, I can see who’s the brains of the family,” Eris laughed lightly. “No wonder you married so far beneath you, my Queen.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder casually as Star lunged for the portal and was restrained by her husband again. This was going to be easy. Queen Butterfly was all action and no strategy. She’d drop the bombshell and leave before any of them realized there was anything off.

“Your daughter,” she went on, swinging her gaze to the Lucitors, “just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So sad.”

“You’re despicable,” Tom spat out. 

“Yes, well, you’re a hothead. Never a good temperament for a king, even one of the Underworld.” She shifted her attention back to the Butterflys, “Little Pandora carried the magic of Eclipsa, Queen of Darkness within her. And like you, my Queen, I am a descendant of hers.”

“You—” And then it hit Star like a ton of bricks. “Her monster lover.”

“Correct,” Eris trilled, rolling her _r’s_ for emphasis. “I longed to have been the one to inherit my great-grandmother’s talents, but sadly it wasn’t so.” Her eyes glinted as a sickening smile unfurled, “So once I saw Princess Butterfly left unattended, I stole her away to take her inherent magic so I could absorb it myself. And now the deed is done. I drained her magic as well as Miss Lily’s demon powers until there was nothing left of their life forces.”

“You’re lying,” Marco asserted loudly.

“I assure you, I’m not. Perhaps you’d like to see for yourselves.” In a flash, her face disappeared, and the image that swirled into place made all of their hearts stop cold.

Pandora and Lily, lying side by side on the floor, their faces white as sheets, lips and fingers blue. Neither of them moved or uttered a sound, not even a twitch.

“It’s fake!” Janna screamed, trying to convince herself as well as the others, the hand holding her machete quivering. “It’s a hologram, just like the stupid Triad back there!”

For a moment, her words held weight and the parents held their guards. Until Eris came into view and lifted Pandora’s limp form into her arms, holding her up so her head lolled to the side and her arms dangled towards the floor.

“We couldn’t touch the holograms,” Tom rasped out, his mouth suddenly completely dry. “Janna…”

“Here’s all that’s left of your precious princesses,” Eris simpered as all four of them dropped their weapons, utter dismay etched into their features.

“Pandi…” Shock flitted through Marco’s mind, numbing him for an instant as he stared at his very still lifeless daughter. _Lifeless_. And then he snapped. “Pandi! _Pandora!”_

 _“Lily!”_ Janna threw herself forward to ram the portal, but it didn’t budge. Again and again, only causing the translucent surface to ripple. She was powerless to penetrate it, and Tom grabbed her from behind, dragging her away as she screamed their daughter’s name over and over until her throat was raw.

“We’re too late…” It was Star’s darkest nightmare come true. Only it was worse than anything she had imagined. Nothing could have prepared her for the numbness, the feeling of falling through the ground, the cruel reality staring her in the face.

“So, Queen Butterfly,” Eris drawled, ignoring the strangled screams from the other three and speaking only to Star, who stood blankly with her trembling hands over her mouth. “If you would be so kind as to hand over your Wand, my humble abode is only a few miles north of your location. Deliver it to me and my goal will be fulfilled. I look forward to your compliance… since it seems you truly have nothing more to lose.”

With a wave of her hand, the portal swirled closed and vanished into thin air, leaving them isolated in the forest clearing once more.

 

* * *

 

That had gone much better than she anticipated, but this was far from over. She had only planted the seeds, now came the wait to see if the fruits of her labor paid off.

“Good work, ladies. Excellent performance.” And all it took was white ash and some smashed blueberries smeared on the girls’ skin to fool the most powerful rulers of their dimension. 

They needed to hurry though. The sleeping potion was only good for a few hours.

 

* * *

 

A roar like a wounded animal pierced through the early evening as a tree went up in flames at the hands of the king of the Underworld. Then another was set ablaze, and another, and then a clump of bushes, each punctured by another agonized howl as Tom flung his flaming fists at every piece of greenery in sight. No one stopped him; for once in his life no one told him he was overreacting. Tom Lucitor had every right to be this angry. 

Janna didn’t go to him, she knew it was better to let him burn himself out than risk unwitting injury. So she remained crumpled on the grass, sobbing vocally as if her heart would break. It was all over. Two days of slogging through nature and having themselves tested by spiritual beings had all been for absolutely nothing. Lily, the one light shining through her brooding melancholy aesthetic that she prided herself on, the single ray of joy in her life that made her believe in the beauty of the universe again, was gone.

 _Dead._ Lily was dead. Pandora was dead. She raised her head, blinking through her swollen streaming eyes to peer at the other pair of grieving parents. Star had broken out of her paralyzed stupor shortly after Eris’ departure, shaking Marco by the shoulders, begging him to tell her it wasn’t true before collapsing against him. Janna had never heard either of them cry so hard before, not even when they were kids. Now Marco was kneeling before his sword stabbed into the ground, weeping with his forehead pressed against the hilt.

“Janna?” Star’s voice sounded so unlike herself that she wouldn’t have known it was her if she hadn’t sat down beside her. “Come here.” And she felt Star’s arms wrap around her before she could protest. In fact, Janna didn’t realize how badly she needed that embrace until she was in it, the two queens burying their faces as they clung to each other’s convulsing forms.

The navy clouds above them opened up and stray raindrops became a steady patter. Somewhere in the haze of grief, the tent had gone up once more with the women plus Marco huddled beneath it, silent aside from sobs and an occasional whisper of _“I know…”_ Janna sprang up when a weakened anguished moan came from Tom’s direction, the rain drenching him and rendering his fire useless. Dashing back out into the downpour, she flung herself at her demon king as they finally mourned their loss together, leaving Star and Marco alone in the tent.

Neither of them could stop shivering, and it had nothing to do with the cold rain. Even though he knew it would kill him, Marco looked his wife directly in the face, cupping it in his hands. As if her dull tortured blue eyes weren’t excruciating enough, Star’s heart emblems were broken down the middle, and he kissed each of them tenderly. It was all he could do. It was all either of them could do: Hold each other, wipe away tears, and stare into each other’s pleading gazes as if to say _‘Now what?’_

“I’m gonna do it,” Star croaked out through hitched breath.

“Y—what?” Marco managed to wheeze, his voice ragged.

“Give her my Wand.” She felt for the heirloom in her belt with a shaking hand and grasped it. “I failed my kingdom, I failed my mother, I failed Tom and Janna and _you._ And…” She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing the bell of the wand to her forehead, the crystal still warm from earlier. “Pandora. I promised her… I literally _swore_ over my mother’s coffin that I was always gonna be there for her. But I wasn’t, and — and it cost Pandi her life.”

“Stop it,” her husband soothed, kissing the top of her head.

“My baby… our little miracle… she’s never coming back, Marco.”

“Star, listen to me.” He gently pulled the wand away from her face, forcing her to look at his mirrored anguished expression. “You can’t give that — that _beast_ your Wand. I know why you want to, I know she’s taken the most important person in our lives from us, but you _can’t_ give in.” His face darkened slowly in the dim light as he held his despondent wife, both of them listening to the rain and their friends’ wailing outside. “She needs to pay for what she’s done.”

Star pulled back suddenly, feeling Marco’s hands squeeze her upper arms as he stared out of the tent flap, his mind miles away. His tears had stopped, replaced with a simmering rage that could have put Tom’s to shame. She had almost never seen this side of him. He was always ready to fight by her side, engage in combat when it was called for — but deliberately take another life outside of the battlefield?

 _No._ The queen was not about to let the love of her life become a murderer. Especially when he could lose his life in the process.

“Marco?” He didn’t answer, he didn’t even look at her, but crawled to his feet as he exited through the tent flap. “Marco?!” Star called again more desperately, flinging the tent flaps aside as she followed him. The rain had slowed but remained persistent, neither of them noticing as they marched with purpose through the mud — Marco with his eyes straight ahead and Star scrambling to stop him.

_“Marco Diaz!”_

“What?!” he shrieked nearly as shrilly, whirling around to face her. Deep pain flooded her eyes despite the indignance in her curled lips and furrowed brow.

“Get back here. Now.”

“No. You can’t order me around, Star. I’m not one of your subjects.”

“I’m not a Queen right now, Marco. I’m your wife and your best friend. I’m just Star.” Her entire body was trembling as she fought to maintain composure, “And I need you to stay here while I go take care of this.”

“No, Star. _I’m_ the one who’s gonna take care of this.” Marco drew a shaking breath as he stepped closer to her. They could no longer hear Tom and Janna weeping, which meant they were listening in. “If I deal with her, than you don’t have to give up your Wand.”

“Marco, this woman killed our daughter,” Star stated as evenly as possible, latching her hands onto his in a death grip, as if that would physically hold him in place. “If she’s descended from Eclipsa, then she’ll go to any lengths to get what she wants. She won’t hesitate to kill again. That’s why I need to be the one to go, I’ll stand a better chance against her.” 

“You still don’t think I can hold my own, do you?” Marco asked in a wounded tone.

“Stop saying stupid stuff like that!” she finally exploded. “Of course I know you can hold your own, you’ve saved my life like a bajillion times! But this isn’t your fight, Marco!”

“Yeah it is!”

“How?!” Every breath she exhaled shook, tears burning her eyes once more. She was running out of ammo, and he showed no signs of standing down. “You’re not thinking clearly right now, and I get it, I’m not either—”

“I am, Star, more than I have in the past two days,” he said more quietly. “Pandora’s gone. All of this is because of me. It only makes sense that I end it. And if I die, I’m taking Eris down with me, I promise.”

“Let me go with you,” Star sighed through helpless tears, for she already knew the answer before he said it. “You need your battle partner.”

Marco shook his head. “I need my battle partner to sit this one out.”

“I don’t sit tight! You know that, Marco!”

“Mewni already lost their princess, they can’t lose their queen too!” Marco argued. “I’m going to finish this mess that I made, and I can’t let you go with me, Star.” His voice broke once her name slipped past his lips. “Please. Do this for me.”

“I can’t lose _you!”_ Star protested. “I — I can’t lose my daughter and my husband in the same night!”

Marco felt tears forming in his eyes and he breathed deep. “I’m sorry,” he said, sighing out his defeat. “But there’s no other way to defeat Eris. Not without hurting all of you too. And I think I’ve done enough in that department.”

“No, no, just wait!” Star pleaded, clinging onto him. “Marco, think about this! Come back with me, I promise, we’ll figure something else out!”

She was hyperventilating in his grasp, crying and shaking from everything all at once. The shock, the grief, the confusion— it was too much. Her eyes were practically waterfalls, her sobs ugly and heaving. And then there was Marco, as cool and collected as he could be in a situation like this. 

It wasn’t fair.

None of this made any sense.

“Hey,” Marco whispered, tilting Star’s head up with a finger under her chin. He had a bittersweet smile on his face, then huffed out a rueful laugh. “Hopefully you can find a good replacement for me, yeah?”

“Don’t talk like that,” Star whimpered.

Marco quivered in his bold stance, leaning in to press their foreheads together. “I love you.”

This statement was said in a hushed, quick whisper; as if this love of theirs was so final and forbidden. Star didn’t seem to follow the same principle, and she choked for a few moments before shakily giving a reply; “I love you too.”

They stood there in silence, stealing one last serene moment before Star yanked the space between them shut with a kiss. It was firm, sweet and everything a final kiss between two loves should be. Marco cradled Star’s face just so, she stood on her tiptoes to lean into him, holding onto his shoulders—

—Marco didn’t even realize what was happening until it happened.

He was thrown to the ground, he heard his wife’s sobs and then... quick, retreating footsteps.

“Star!” Marco hollered, trying to scamper back up to his feet.

“I’m sorry!” Star shrieked, not even looking back at him as she ran as fast as her legs could take her— eventually daring to whip out her grand, lavender Butterfly wings and take to the sky.

Suddenly, she fired her wand, yelling a spell he couldn’t make out; but it caused an unclimbable, seemingly endless thick wall of glass to separate the two of them. In vain, Marco ran for only a few feet before skidding to a defeated stop. He had felt this familiar pang in his heart before. So many years ago, when Star had run up into his attic and never came back. This felt all the same.

The most important girl in his life, gone.

_Not again._

He immediately turned around, back in the direction he had come from.

“Tom! Janna! I need your help! **_Now!_** _"_

 

* * *

 

“She did _what?!”_ Tom howled. “Oh my Gods, _that stubborn idiot_ — if she’s not dead already, I’m gonna kill her!” He growled, stomping in place. “W-well, _not really,_ but she always does stuff like this!”

“I know!” Marco said exasperatedly. “So what do we do?! She blocked off the path!”

Arms folded over her chest, Janna raised an eyebrow. “With every spell comes a cure,” she said matter-of-factly. “How did she block off the path? Can we go over or under it? Was it a hex or—?”

Marco stammered, then shrugged. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “She made a giant crystal wall, and I didn’t see an end.”

“Oh that's helpful,” she spluttered sarcastically, rushing ahead of the men as she made her way over to Star’s makeshift border. Tiny butterflies rippled along the length of the wall as she kicked it, then bit her lip in deep thought.

“It’s… not irreversible,” Janna confirmed, pressing her hand to the cold unyielding surface. “But it’s a lot of work to undo.” Unbuckling the belt from her waist, she began to sift through the potion bottles in one hand, flipping open a spellbook with the other.

“Janna, there’s no point—”

“Let her go,” Tom said, yanking Marco back from her and pulling him along the wall to leave her be.

“Tom, she’s never been able to undo Star’s magic before,” Marco hissed under his breath once they were far enough away. “Why is this gonna be any different?”

“It won’t. But it gives her something to do.” He swallowed hard, pressing his thumb and index fingers to his eyes for a moment, his mouth twisting tightly. “It — it takes her mind off Lily for a minute.”

Marco exhaled slowly at that, hanging his head in understanding. He clapped a hand around his friend’s back and held it firmly as Tom choked down sobs, wiping his hand under his own nose. “I’m s—”

“Quit apologizing,” Tom sniffed, raising his head to see Marco’s eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “You worked your ass off to get them back just as hard as we did. Y-you loved your kid as much as I loved mine.”

“And now I’m gonna lose my wife, too.” With a prolonged shout of rage, Marco flung his fists against the glass barrier. Not even a crack appeared, and he rested his forehead against it wearily. Tom grabbed his arm before his quaking knees gave way. “She hasn’t left me behind like that in years. Not since—”

“Toffee,” Tom finished for him, remembering all too well.

“I’ll _die_ if anything happens to her.”

“It won’t.” Tom glanced over at his wife, whose face was hidden behind her book, lost in her counter-enchantments. “We’re gonna follow her and be her backup, like we always are.”

“Not if she doesn’t _want_ us to!” Marco yelled, storming away from him. “How do you think she made this wall, Tom?! With her willpower! Just like all her other spells! She knows she might get killed and she doesn’t want me to watch it happen!”

“And if she didn’t go, _you_ would have!” Tom argued back. “Cut yourself a portal and shut it behind you, right? That’s what you were gonna do?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore! I’ve known Star for sixteen years, and you’ve known her practically your whole lives! You know _nothing’s_ stronger than her mind when she’s made it up.”

“Nope, you’re wrong.” Before he could turn and react, Janna had snatched his scissors out from under his cape. “There is something stronger than Star’s will, and it’s the only way we’re gonna bust through this thing.” 

“What?”

 _“Your_ willpower. It has to be you, Marco. You’re the only one who’s ever been able to make her think twice, jumpstart her impulse control. Bottom line, you’re the only one she listens to.”

“Oh yeah, she listens — and look how well that turned out,” Tom scoffed, gesturing to the wall with a sweep of his arm.

Janna ignored him and grabbed Marco’s left hand, isolating his ring finger with his gold wedding band around it. Shaking up a blood red bottle with her other hand, she uncorked it with her teeth and dabbed just a few drops along his finger.

“That’s the vein connected to your heart…” she muttered half to herself.

Under normal circumstances, she would’ve complained about the utter cheesiness of this ritual. But Star was flying right into a suicide mission at this very moment, and the witch was willing to try anything that would get them closer to her. They couldn’t lose any more loved ones that night.

“What am I supposed to do?” Marco breathed out huskily as Janna now dribbled the liquid onto the gold blades of his scissors, where he could swear he saw steam start to rise off of them.

“You’re gonna cut through the wall.”

“He’s gonna what?” Tom asked incredulously. 

“You heard me,” Janna bit out impatiently before turning back to Marco. “It’s just like how you usually do it: Think real hard about where you wanna go and just snip.” She exhaled loudly, Marco noticing that her eyes were still puffy and wet. “And you better be as in love with your wife as you say you are, or else this elixir’s useless.” 

Marco turned towards the wall, shutting his eyes as he parted the blades at the ready. Just like in preparation in the dojo, he cleared his mind and blocked out everything: Tom’s heavy breathing, the rustling wind and hooting owls, and focused on only one thing: Star. Her fierce eyes, her tightly set jaw, her lips forming words of love and encouragement she had always given him, how her lithe arms were so strong when she held him. How he needed her, probably more than she needed him. How he would never be able to bear the pain of losing their daughter without Star beside him… 

_Shing!_

With the strength of a buzzsaw slicing through a metal block, Marco’s scissors grew almost too warm to the touch as they punctured through Star’s seemingly immovable glass wall. Orange sparks flew in every direction with each snip, and Marco had to squint while he continued to cut. And cut, and cut, and didn’t stop until the blades finally closed around empty air. With as much momentum as he could muster in his cramped sliver of the barrier, he lifted his leg and kicked with all his might. At last, a section of the wall came crumbling down, just enough for all three of them to climb over the jagged pieces and continue sprinting down the path Star had taken.

“Now what?” Janna asked, grabbing Tom’s hand as they ran side by side.

“Now we find Eris.” Stretching his arm in front of him, Marco cut the air in record speed, seeing the swirling mass of blue only for a second before he dashed right through it, the other two following closely behind.

_A few miles north… Eris… take me to our daughters… take me to Star…_

 

* * *

 

Coming out the other side, they touched down out in the open, in the middle of a path leading to a rundown shack. The second they realized this was Eris’ home, the trio dove behind a large shrubbery. Luckily it was now too dark for them to be spotted, and their clothing and dirt-smeared faces let them blend into the earth easily.

“So this is the bitch’s ‘humble abode’,” Janna sneered, leaning closer into Tom as long thorny brambles pierced her, small trickles of blood rolling down her legs. 

“But where’s Star?” Tom’s voice betrayed immense concern as Marco’s heart hammered in his chest. There were no beams of light, pink or green, no sounds of destruction, no screams of incantations. That left two options: Either Star had won — but no, she would have sent a signal into the sky to let them know if she had.

So that meant Eris could have her captured, or even—

 _No, stop it,_ Marco told himself sternly. _She’s alive. She has to be._

“I’m going in,” Tom stated as if they were all in agreement, making to stand just before Janna and Marco each grabbed a shoulder and pushed him back down.

“Are you nuts?!” Janna hissed.

“Well it can’t be Marco! If Star’s got Eris cornered, the last thing she needs is him throwing himself in harm’s way. It’ll be way less distracting if I go.”

“Yeah, and you’ll burn the place down with Star and the girls still in it,” Janna huffed out, gritting her teeth. “I can at least be a good distraction with my hexes while Star takes her out—”

“There’s _no way_ I’m letting you go in there alone!”

“Tom, _don’t you dare_ start that shit again—”

“That was before Lily—”

“Shut up, both of you!” Marco whispered as loud as he dared, for Eris could have eyes and ears all over the surrounding forest. “There’s two entrances, one in front and one in back. One of us will sneak in the front and find Star and Eris. And…” He drew a shaking breath, “The other two will go get the girls. Th-their bodies. We can’t just leave them there.”

There was silence, the weight of his words hitting each of them like a boulder. Not one of them wanted that task, to see and hold the little corpses of their children firsthand. But it had to be done, no matter how horrible it was going to be. Janna held Tom’s hand in a vice-like grip as she sniffled back tears.

“I’ll do it,” she croaked out. “I-I’ve got some ingredients for embalming.”

“Are you sure—?”

“Dealing with the dead is my department,” Tom nodded, suddenly looking much older and more weary than he should at his age. “Both of ours.”

“Guys, you don’t have t— one of you can—” Marco was cut off as a pair of arms latched themselves around his neck, feeling Janna’s torso crash against his. He couldn’t remember the last time she had hugged him, if ever, and he shifted within the scratchy bush to embrace her right back.

“Go get Star,” Janna hissed firmly, holding him a little tighter as his shoulders began to tremble. “We’ll take care of Pandora.”

“Thank you,” Marco was barely able to voice through his constricted throat. “Tell her how much her Papa loved her…”

“You can tell her yourself after you and Star win,” Tom said as Janna pulled back, forcing a shaky smile. With one last nod to each of them in thanks, Marco unsheathed his sword in one hand and grasped his scissors tighter in the other, pushing his way through the branches and out into the night.

With barely a word passing between them, the Lucitors crawled their way towards the rear of the cottage, seeing Marco silhouetted against the moonlight as he scampered to the front. Every inch of the place was so dilapidated it was shocking that it was still standing, bricks and roof thatching littering the patches of dirt that looked as if they may have been a garden at one point. There was still no sign of Eris nor Star as Tom and Janna drew closer to the door, holding their breath and keeping their hands hovered over their weapons in case anything jumped out to prevent their entrance. But nothing did. 

And when they sneaked into the shabby little back room, there she was, lying on the dirty floor as if she were a bag of garbage and not their only child.

“Lily…” Tom’s voice wobbled close to the breaking point as Janna stepped closer, moving like a zombie towards the unimaginable sight.

“This shouldn’t have happened… she didn’t do _anything_ to deserve this.” Her eyes were so thickly veiled with tears that she could barely see in the already dim light as the cool tough-as-nails Underworld queen knelt mournfully beside her daughter’s body.

“I know, babe. But… we gotta give them a proper burial. We gotta get them out of here.”

“It’s our kid, Tom,” his wife began to sob. “N-not just some other soul we gotta deal with.”

“I know,” he repeated, sounding on the verge of tears himself. “J-just bring her here. I wanna hold her one more time.”

Janna nodded as her chest heaved painfully, more wracked with anguish than she had ever been in her life. And as her eyes scanned Lily’s torn clothes and skinny form as if she hadn’t eaten in all that time, tears dripped onto her corpse as she reached out to lift her up...

...Janna yanked her hands back as if she’d been burned.

Not quite, but what she felt still shocked her. Warmth. Lily’s body was warm.

Shifting as quietly as she could so as not to alert Eris to their intrusion, Janna peered down into her daughter’s motionless face: Closed unflinching eyes, slightly parted lips… and nestled in the corner of her mouth, the tiniest drop of blue liquid.

Carefully, her mother ran her thumb across her lower lip to extract it, raising the smeared almost glowing liquid closer to her eyes. The witch examined it, sniffed it, tasted it with her tongue. A sudden wave of lightheadedness washed over her, leaving as quickly as it came.

 _“Sopor Laurentius.”_ Her heart jolted, raising her whisper as loud as she dared. “Tom… Tom, it’s a _deep sleep potion.”_

“What?” Tom hissed, glancing at his wife with raised eyebrows. “So does that mean—”

Janna tentatively leaned in, gently feeling along Lily’s neck and instantly found what she was looking for. A pulse. Slow and heavy, almost hesitant, but the sign of a beating heart regardless.

“She’s alive,” Janna whispered, reaching out to grab their daughter, only for a scalding hot iron poker to bolt out of the darkness, scraping her hands.

Yelping, the human woman backed away from the toddler and looked up with fear, with Tom’s grip protectively on her shoulder, as they saw their enemy looming over them, chuckling lowly. Eris shook her head, then tilted it to the side as if she was thinking. Ebony and crimson tresses flowed over her shoulder, and she twirled the poker in between her fingers, sighing.

“I thought I smelled more human than I should have,” she huffed.

“You sick fu—” Janna was cut off when the poker was thrust forward, dangerously close to her throat. “What do you want with us? With our daughter? What did we ever do to you?!” 

Eris paused, then gave a nonchalant shrug. “Nothing,” she said. “But this is actually starting to get kinda fun!”

Tom took one look at the slight burn marks on his wife’s knuckles, and instantly he began to growl. He tried to be as gentle as possible when pushing Janna to the side, reaching out to grab their foe’s pathetic weapon of choice.

“You wanna fight fire with fire, huh?” he hissed, standing up and now being the one to tower over Eris.

“King Lucitor wants to fight me,” the creature hissed, her violet eyes glinting wildly. “I’m just tickled to be worthy of your time.”

 _She’s nuts,_ Tom assessed briefly, knowing if anyone was gonna take on an unhinged dark magician, it would have to be him. “Janna, you okay?”

“Yeah,” the witch seethed, staring the woman down as well.

“Take Lily and get outta here, I’ll hold her off.”

Eris threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, _will_ you now?! Fine, take your stupid brat, she was useless to me anyway!” Seizing the moment Tom slightly relaxed his grip, she yanked the poker from him and swung it around. The sharp edge whacked him square in the chest, sending him reeling against the wall. “I’ll enjoy killing her father in front of her…” 

She shrieked as a handful of what felt like water hit her in the face, feeling everything that made contact with the liquid go numb as she scrambled her fingers over her eyes. The poker clattering to the floor, she glared daggers at Janna who lowered her outstretched arm.

“Paralysis concoction of my own design,” the enchantress grinned. “It’ll only stop when I remove it. And after drugging my kid so you could make us think she was dead, it might be awhile before I feel like it.” Her husband gave her a quick wink of thanks before swiping the poker from the floor, kicking the reptilian woman into the opposite crumbling wall.

“Go Jan, I don’t want Lily in here,” Tom shot over his shoulder, digging the metal point into Eris’ chest.

“Wait — where’s Pandora?” Janna suddenly realized, glancing around the room frantically.

“Indeed, where _is_ she?” Eris breathed calmly, her shoulders rising in an innocent shrug, and Tom freed one of his hands to flare it.

“You better talk, scum.”

“Do you think I’m scared of you, little rage-ball?”

“I don’t care if you are, personally,” Tom replied almost nonchalantly. “But if you really did kill Princess Butterfly, then I know a couple people you need to be scared of.”

Almost as if the universe gave him some sort of hilarious cue, Marco kicked down the thin wooden door of the shack, his tattered cape flying in the wind and his scissors extended into a sword. With the sunset behind him, he almost seemed like a hero from the storybook pages.

“Him?” Eris scoffed. “A weak Earthling?”

However, she was instantly concerned by the sick, twisted smirk on the demon king’s face. Tom smiled, bowing slightly to his friend. “She’s all yours, Diaz,” he chuckled.

Marco gave a slight nod before barreling towards Eris, his sword extended. She yelped, beginning to scatter, but he lunged, grabbing her by her long ebony hair and yanking with all of his might.

 _“I’ll kill you.”_ The king of Mewni shook with a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before as he pressed his blade into Eris’ throat. “And then maybe you’ll feel a _fraction_ of the pain you’ve put me through.” With a strangled cry, he withdrew the sword sharply, ready to plunge it into her chest.

“Marco!” Tom cried out sharply. “The girls aren’t dead!”

“Wha… they — but we saw them—”

“It’s a sleep potion, it’ll wear off eventually!” The demon’s gaze flickered between Marco and the battered reptilian woman. “Oh, I didn’t mean stop trying to kill her — please, by all means, continue.”

“Not ‘til she talks,” Janna countered.

“Then I suggest you remove this jinx, Queen Lucitor,” Eris called in a constricted voice. “Can’t talk if my tongue swells, you know.”

“Do it, Janna,” Marco ordered sharply, and she rolled her eyes, shooting her hand palm out towards Eris. With a choking gasp, the feeling returned to the villainess’ face.

“Where’s Star?” he said in between clenched teeth, holding Eris by the scruff of her neck, his other hand gripping his sword. “And Pandora? What did you do with them?”

Eris spluttered out nonsense for a moment, clearly taken aback by the human’s sudden bold front. “I-I put your brat—” She yelped when Marco began to close his hand around her neck, as a warning if nothing else. “Er, your daughter was with the other one.”

Janna clutched Lily close to her chest, shaking her head. “She’s lying to you, Diaz.”

“I — I’m not! I swear!” Eris gasped. “That’s where I left her!”

“Tell me the truth,” Marco declared. “Star and Pandora. _Where are they?”_

“I haven’t seen the Queen, I swear,” Eris blubbered, taking in deep breaths as the grip on her neck was loosened enough for her to speak. “If I had, trust me, I’d have the wand and you’d all be defeated.”

Light suddenly spilled into the shack once again as the front door was kicked open a second time. 

“D-did I do it right, boss?”

“You did just fine, buddy, and remember, don’t call me ‘boss’!” Once that familiar voice rang through, Tom, Janna and Marco all made the connection— then ducked when they heard the familiar cry of _“Shooting Star Explosion!”_ , letting Eris become the victim of the powerful, glittery and obviously explosive spell.

She howled as the series of neon stars attacked her from every angle and none other than Star barged into the shack — surprisingly, with an entire army behind her.

“Star!” Marco beamed, rushing towards his wife and lifting her up as he brought her into an embrace.

“Hey, isn’t that the karate boy?” someone in the army yelled.

Star let out a nervous laugh. “Hey, guys,” she mumbled. “I had to grab a few friends to help me out. I wasn’t sure what I was up against a-and I didn’t want to hurt any of you anymore, so I ran into Lobsterclaws here—”

“Hi!” Lobsterclaws said, waving a claw that seemed to still be bandaged even after all these years.

“Aaaand we kind of found everyone else along the way?” Star concluded, giving a shaky smile. “I guess this was kind of overkill, though.” She paused, then shrunk in her husband’s embrace just a little bit, as she noticed everyone else’s eyes on her. “Are you guys mad at me? Those look like your mad faces.”

Eris groaned, weakly trying to get up. “Pardon me for interrupting this lovely reunion,” she said, spitting out a trail of thick, green blood. “But I believe that—” She pointed at the wand in the Queen’s holster. “—is mine now. Hand it over, or everyone in here gets it, and you will never see your precious Pandora again.”

Marco held onto Star, glaring at the monster that laid before them. “You and what army?” he asked. “There’s all of us and only you.”

“Oh, really?” Eris said, batting her eyes. She reached into a pocket deep inside her dress, then chuckled, holding up a tiny vial full of thick, orange liquid. “Your Wickedness, can you tell me what this is?”

Janna’s brown eyes went wide. “It’s one of the most destructive explosion spells out there,” she muttered. “How did you get your filthy mitts on it? _I_ don’t even have that one.”

No one seemed to notice that last statement was muttered almost out of jealousy.

“Ding, ding, ding, give the girl a prize,” Eris coughed out. “One drop of this, and you’ll be done for. I might have made some ‘modifications’ for it to affect anyone in here that’s not… well, not me. So give me the wand, and we’ll go our separate ways, or refuse and you’ll all instantly go _poof.”_

Silence fell in the shack, all of them mulling over the serious consequences. Then Janna gasped as she felt the little body against her chest move at last, staring down into her daughter’s pale lavender face. Lily’s clenched eyes opened wide, as if waking from a terrible nightmare — and for an instant, Janna and Tom felt like they were as well.

“M-mommy?” The little demon girl always put on her toughest face, but now her mouth trembled as she crumpled fearfully against Janna’s bosom. “Mommy!”

 _“Shh_ — it’s okay now.” Janna closed her eyes, rocking her in place as Tom extinguished his hands to sweep beside them.

“My little fighter,” he whispered brokenly, kissing her forehead and horns as she flung her chubby arms around his neck. “You were so brave, Lily.”

“I’m so glad she’s okay,” Star sighed out in bittersweet relief, hugging Marco closer. “I really am.”

“Isn’t that precious?” Eris wheezed in a deranged tone, wiggling the vial in her hand. “All together again. Now you’ll get out if you know what’s good for you. This is between me and Queen Star.” 

“We came here for two kids!” Janna spat out. “We’re not leaving without both of them!” 

“Lily,” Star said softly to the trembling child. “Do you know where Pandi is? Any ideas?” 

Lily shook her head, “That lady made her drink the blue water and she f-fell asleep, and then I fell asleep a-and—” She wailed as she clutched her father harder, “I don’t know!”

“It’s okay sweetie, it’s alright.” She forced a watery smile to assure the little girl she wasn’t mad at her, but Lily seemed more upset by the fact that her friend was gone than anything.

“Pandora fell asleep first… that means she woke up first.” Marco seized Star by the upper arms. “I bet she made a run for it.”

“Stay here, I’m gonna go look for her—”

“You’ll do no such thing, Your Majesty,” Eris cut her off as Star pulled away from Marco and headed towards the door. “Set one foot out that door and this vial drops. Everyone in this room will die — including your beloved husband.” She grinned as the queen instantly froze at those words, her wings wilting behind her. “Your princess or your king? That’s a cruel bargain even by _my_ standards.”

“What should I break first, her arms or her legs?” Lobsterclaws asked almost gleefully.

“Neither,” Star growled, turning back to face the already battered villainess, clutching the wounds in her side, green blood covering her hand. Breathing hard through her nostrils, she strode forward until she was only a few feet in front of Eris’ outstretched arm dangling the orange vial threateningly.

And slowly, she removed her wand from her belt.

“No!”

“You can’t!”

“Star, _don’t you dare!”_

 _“Yes,”_ Eris hissed as the heirloom was pressed into her open inviting palm. “At last, after thousands of years, the Butterfly monarchy has fallen!”

 _“What are you doing?!”_ Tom bellowed, throwing himself forward as Marco grabbed him from behind to hold him in place. _“Star!”_  

“Wait,” Marco said so quietly only he and Janna could hear as Tom stopped struggling. Sure enough, as Eris raised her arms to gloat her victory to anyone who would listen, a tinkling of magic filled the air. Several jaws dropped as Star closed her eyes, her hearts glowing like beams of light on her porcelain skin, freezing the woman’s hands in place. Extending her own arms out, Star’s eyes shot open to reveal gaping pools of light, and they all recognized her immense power within.

Her husband smiled, still amazed by her after all these years.

“She knows _exactly_ what she’s doing.”

“No — _no!”_ Eris howled, feeling both the wand and the vial of explosive liquid leave her grasp as they levitated over to Star, who seized them both out of the air when she pulled herself out of her raw magical state.

“Grab her!” she cried, and at once, her army of monsters charged forward roaring in a resounding chorus.

“That’s cheating!” the reptile shrieked indignantly, her words cut off as three of the monsters grabbed her and pinned her against the wall.

 _“You_ cheated,” Star stated in a low voice throbbing with ire, shoving the glowing wand in her face, “the moment you took my daughter from me. Then poisoned her, and _then_ had the gall to threaten my husband. Three strikes and you’re guilty!”

“It’s ‘you’re out.’”

“Whatever, Marco.”

“‘Benevolent’ queen indeed,” Eris rasped, trying to wrench her arms out of the creatures’ grips, only to shriek and wilt back to the floor as her wounds gushed and pooled more green.

“The more you struggle, the more my spell takes hold. Either you come with me quietly, or die here.”

 _“Never!_ Eclipsa’s curse on all of you! You disowned her! I’ll die a thousand deaths before I give in to the Butterflys!”

“I can’t look at this anymore.” Marco turned away from Eris screaming in agony, torturing herself to death as Star tried to reason with her, and he headed for the front door.

“Where you goin’?” Janna asked. 

“To find my daughter,” he replied, securing his cape against the biting wind outside. “I think she’s telling the truth. That she really doesn’t know where Pandi is.”

“Hold up, I’m going with you,” Tom interjected, planting one last kiss on Lily’s forehead as she sniffled in Janna’s arms.

“You don’t have t—”

“I gave you hell when I lost Lily,” the demon held up his hand insistently. “Now that I’ve got her back, the least I can do is help you find Pandora.”

Marco couldn’t help the grin crossing his face. Tom never ceased to surprise him, that was for sure. “Thanks. Let’s hurry, she’s been out here awhile.”

Dashing back out into the forest, the wind blew much colder than it had earlier, rain freezing into snow as it pelted the two of them like needles. Marco flung his hand up to shield his face, squinting as he scanned the immediate surroundings of Eris’ shack.

“Pandi!” he called, his voice cracking from all the anger and grief he’d exerted that evening. “Pandi!” He couldn’t even see footprints in the snow, the wind has whipped them away. A lump formed in his throat when there was no response. Maybe he’d gotten his hopes up too high...

“Marco, I found something!” He whirled around to see Tom bounding towards him holding a frayed blue ribbon in his hand.

Marco snatched it up instantly. “This is hers — she was wearing it around her waist!”

“Over this way!” Tom pointed as Marco raced ahead of him towards a burrow at the base of a large tree.

_“Pandora!”_

And then he heard it. A tiny sneeze within the hole at the roots. Dropping to his knees, Marco peered inside — and he nearly broke down and wept. His daughter, curled up into a shivering ball with her face buried in her knees, slowly raised her head when she felt another’s presence disrupt her solitude.

“P...Papa?” She couldn’t believe it any more than he could, her sapphire eyes wide and rapidly pooling with tears. “Papa!”

“Oh, Pandi!” Marco scooped her up, burying his face in her hair as she clutched him like a lifeline. “You’re here… you’re okay…”

“She’s here!” Tom exclaimed happily once he caught up to them.

“She’s like ice,” Marco whispered, flecking the icicles out of her deep brown locks as she shuddered against his cold breastplate. 

“I was t-trying to find you and M-Mama—”

“I know, I know sweetie,” he choked on stifled sobs, pressing his lips to her forehead. “We fought so hard to find you, too. _Pequeña milagro…_ ” Marco breathed it out so tenderly, the words his own father had uttered the day Pandora was born. Their little miracle.

“Tom, c’mere, I need you to warm her up, stat.”

“Hey,” Tom said softly, scooping up the toddler in his arms. “Hey, kiddo. Miss your Uncle Tom?” Instantly, Pandora snuggled against the demon king, whining as the warmth of his skin shocked her cold nerves awake. “Geez, not even a hello?”

Marco shook his head, giving his friend a bittersweet smile. At least it was still better than a definitive tragic _“goodbye”._

 

* * *

 

“So what do we do with her?” Janna asked, gently kicking their foe in the side— as if the monster in question was already deceased.

When in fact, Eris lay curled up on the cold wooden floor of the cabin, shaking and shivering. Thick, green blood oozed from her side and she was entering an awful coughing fit. The more morbid queen frowned, about to drive the heel of her boot into the ribcage of the one who had wronged her—

—until her fellow royal lunged out, an arm extended.

“Don’t,” Star whispered. “Leave her alone.”

Janna’s dark brown eyes narrowed, and she practically sneered. “You can’t show mercy on this, Star,” she argued. “I know your whole thing is being nice until it kills you or whatever, but it can’t work all of the time.”

“I know that!” Star rebuked. “But… I— I just— let me talk to her.”

“I don’t think she’ll have much talking in her,” Janna grumbled, taking a step back, clutching Lily on her hip. “I’ll watch out for Tom and Marco.”

Star heard Janna shushing her baby as they moved outside where the makeshift monster army had departed minutes before, and a pang pierced her heart, some odd mix of pain and jealousy. Her own baby girl was still nowhere to be found. Marco was still out there, and the longer he was gone, the further that small glow of hope that Pandora was alive dwindled to almost nothing. She squeezed her eyelids shut as tears formed behind them. It was like losing her all over again.

Unless she was actually able to get a straight answer out of the creature on the floor. So without another moment’s hesitation, the queen got on her knees and crawled over until she was looking Eris in the face. 

“Why won’t you finish me?” the woman rasped, every word spoken in tight pain.

“Because that’s not how I roll,” Star replied simply, making sure her wand was far from Eris’ grasp. “But I am gonna do something you’re probably not used to from my people… I’m gonna hear you out.” 

It took several moments of contemplation for Eris to give in, rolling herself onto her back and exhaling slowly as if she had finally found comfort. Then she took a deep rattling breath.

“Everyone knows you, Star Butterfly. Your story is legend at this point: A bright, joyful, rebellious girl who lived by her own rules, as the ladies did before her. She found true love on Earth, and together they began to rebuild a chauvinistic dynasty into one of equal opportunity.” Her head rolled over to face Star, who was listening intently, and the ailing villainess managed a sneer. “That same princess also fought against my kind. You, your mother and father, that boy you love so dearly, every one of your allies stood behind you as you did you share of slaughtering. _Nothing_ can erase that blood on your hands, Your Majesty.”

“You’re right. I have to live with the lives I took during the breach of the Monster-Mewman Accord for the rest of my life, and so do my husband and friends. We were _children,_ thrown into a war without any warning.”

“Monster children died by your people’s hands as well,” Eris cut her off with a growl.

“And that haunts me, too.” Now it was Star’s turn to inhale and exhale slowly, trying in vain to stop her shaking hands resting on her knees. “I would _never_ wage war against all of monsterkind, Eris. Just against those who struck us first. That’s why I had to… back then as princess, and now as queen. I would’ve dealt a similar punishment if they were Mewmans.”

The reptilian woman turned her head erect once more, staring at the ceiling. Star could have sworn she saw a tear glimmering in the corner of her slit-like eye.

“He was my cousin,” Eris muttered.

Star paused, tilting her head to the side a little. “Excuse me?" 

Eris snorted. “Toffee,” she mumbled. “He was my family, and _you killed him_.” There was almost a sob forming in her tone of voice but she persisted; “You did what your mother couldn’t, hmm? And Solaria, she was the one who killed Scorpius. Do you know how long Eclipsa lived as a widow, stripped of her true love?”

“No,” Star said softly.

“She lived for a while,” Eris hissed. “But she disappeared when I was your daughter’s age. I still remember her...” She gasped and groaned, clutching her abdomen, where one of the stars from the spell had wedged into her side. “Do you think you’re the only one who has a family that loves you? One that would fight to the death to keep you safe?”

Star shook her head. “But what you did wasn’t right,” she declared. “So what was it? Was it actually revenge?”

Eris gave a pathetic shrug. “It was a lot of things,” she muttered, her sassy facade fading.

“So we’re family, aren’t we?” Star whispered, her tone of voice almost haunted.

“In a manner of speaking,” Eris spat out. “But does it matter?”

Star paused, then nodded. “It does,” she said, her tone of voice soft yet stern. “Instead of doing what you did, when you know monster-Mewman relations have gotten better—” She was cut off when the she-monster growled, hocking up a glob of sticky, emerald blood. “A-are you alright?”

What a stupid, stupid question.

“I’m on my deathbed, Your Majesty,” Eris hissed. “My plan has failed. Just… go on and let me be. You can never permanently fix the problems between our two worlds, no matter how big your heart may be, or how good your intentions are.”

Whatever sympathy Star had left was slowly slipping away. She bit her lip, then shook her head. “If you won’t tell me why you went through with what you did, at least tell me where my daughter is. Did you spare Lily and not Pandora?”

Eris sneered again. “The royal brat must have escaped somewhere,” she mumbled. “I honestly don’t know where the blessed Princess is.”

“Blessed?” Star whispered.

“Eclipsa’s marks,” Eris said. “I may have actually killed to get that magic. Or…” She exhaled shakily. “I was going to make you believe she was dead, and her you. And then, I would raise her in the Queen Of Darkness’ image, so one day she might rise up and take Butterfly Castle for Septarsis. Either way, it would not mean a happy end for you.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Star muttered in a wavering tone, her hatred for this creature swelling once more at knowing her true intentions for Pandora, while debating which fate was worse — burying her child or battling her years later after spending a lifetime in Eris’ clutches.

“Star!” Marco hollered from outside the shack. He whipped open the door, letting moonlight spill into the grim darkness. “Star, I-I found her!” He had tears brimming in his eyes, carrying a shaking little bundle against his chest. “Pandi, wake up...” 

Whining against her father’s chest, and shivering, little Pandora seemed to be safe and sound aside from a tad bit of frostbite on her tiny fingers. 

“Pandora?” Star whispered in disbelief, getting to her feet and rushing towards her husband. Instantly, tears sprang to the queen’s eyes as she noticed her daughter fidget and softly wail. “Pandi, baby, _oh my gosh—”_ A sob escaped Star as she gently took Pandora into her arms, sudden waves of emotion causing her to weep while she kissed the top of her daughter’s head over and over. “Don’t cry, sweetie, don’t cry, Mama’s right here.”

“Mama,” Pandora whined, blindly reaching out to grab her mother.

“I got you,” Star whispered through her tears. “And I’m not letting go.”

Marco shook with every breath, and pulled his wife and daughter into a tight hug, letting all three of them cry it out and enjoy the reunion that they definitely deserved.

 

* * *

 

“It was a fake,” Janna muttered, as she sifted through the various vials on Eris’s belt. “Half of these are fakes— damn, she was good.” 

The reptilian woman lay still and paralyzed on the ground, lavender eyes wide open.

It was a haunting scene; blood continuing to slowly seep out from the cuts, scaly skin far more cold than usual, and a pale face worn with weariness and defeat. A short-lived, but nonetheless scary enemy now gone for good.

“I’ll take care of her,” Tom said quietly, rolling up his sleeves. “The process would be a lot easier if we brought her down to the ritual room.”

“Then wait ‘til we get home,” his wife insisted as she stood wearily. She heard Lily’s little feet pad over to her and she lifted her up. _“Gods,_ I just wanna go home, Tom.”

“I know, babe.” They glanced over at the Butterflys, huddled in a group embrace and weeping softly again.

“Buncha crybabies,” Janna mumbled in a cracked voice, her chin resting on Lily’s head as Tom wiped away the tears trickling down her cheeks. “She’s not gonna hurt you anymore, hon,” she whispered as Lily reached for her father, frightened by the frigid corpse on the ground, and Tom carried her away so Janna could continue looting the monster’s vials.

“Mama?” Pandora whimpered through little hiccups, hugging Star so tight around the neck that she nearly strangled her. “C-can I still have my party?”

Star laughed tearfully, and it felt so good after so many hours of turmoil. “Of course we’re still gonna have your party! As long as you feel okay.” She looked up at Tom, holding Lily who recoiled shyly, and Star smiled shakily at her. “Do _you_ feel okay, missy?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lily nodded as the queen reached out to stroke her head.

“They’ve been through a lot,” Tom breathed out, booping Pandora on the nose. “You can see it in their eyes — they’re still shaken up about it.”

“I’ve been apologizing to your parents for two days, when really—” Marco curled an arm around Pandora, lifting her out of Star’s arms while doing the same with Lily in his other arm, “—you girls are the ones who really deserve it. I’m sorry, Lily.” He kissed her forehead before turning to his daughter, his throat constricting painfully. “And… I’m sorry, Pandora.” 

“It’s okay, Papa,” Pandora said, kissing him right on the mole on his cheek.

“I can still go over and play, right?” Lily asked her parents anxiously, who glanced at each other quickly. 

“Yeah — yeah, sure you can,” Janna nodded, wiping Eris’ blood off her hands with the bottom of her shirt. 

“We just… might be calling to check up on you more often,” Tom rolled his eyes over to Marco, who smirked.

“Who’s the Safe Kid now, Lucitor?”

“I dunno, wanna arm wrestle for it, Diaz?”

“I prefer a karaoke contest.”

“You’re on!”

Star and Janna eyed their husbands amusedly as they each took hold of their own daughters. Things would settle back down to a normal status quo, their bickering proved that. But an encounter such as this, desperate to tear them apart with all its might, had only reinforced the bond that had always been there.

The four rulers of Mewni and their future heirs, destined to live long and prosperous lives. No matter the paths they chose.

 


	6. Epilogue

“But Mama, Lily’s waiting in there!” Pandora whined, bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet in her gold party dress fastened with a bright pink ribbon. The day of her birthday gala had finally arrived, dinner and desserts had been consumed, and now she and her royal parents were waiting in the front hall to be announced for their appearance in the ballroom.

“I know honey, but you’re gonna walk in with me and Papa first,” Star said as her handmaiden Astra put a few more pins in her tiara, while her twin Aurora secured Marco’s shoulder tassels, much to his chagrin. “That’s just how it goes.” She wasn’t a fan of the traditional rule either, but much of her reign had involved making many compromises to allow for her more free-spirited festivities.

“It’s stupid,” Pandora pouted, sticking out her lower lip.

“You get used to it after a while,” her father assured, smiling down at her. “And maybe when you’re Queen, you’ll have better luck getting them to overturn some of these rules than your mom did.”

“I tried and therefore no one can criticize me!” Star chirped, raising her finger in the air in triumph.

“Now show me your pretty dress, Pandi,” Marco said eagerly, and the little princess giggled as she spun for him.

“It has sparkles!” Pandora exclaimed, the tiny particles of magic catching the light from the chandelier above.

“That might’ve been my idea,” Star admitted to Marco.

“Like how you added pockets on all your gowns?”

“Hey, where else am I gonna keep my cheat notes for the speeches?” she said defensively, smoothing down her corset and skirt before opening her arms invitingly for her daughter. “Okay, up ya get.”

“Nuh-uh, I wanna walk in by myself,” she stated proudly, positioning herself between her parents in front of the ballroom door. “I’m a big girl now.”

“She is, Star,” Marco emphasized as his wife opened her mouth to protest. She closed it firmly in defeat as the chatter behind the door began to die down.

“Yeah… yeah she is.” There was a note of sadness in her tone that didn’t go unnoticed as Marco’s hand slipped into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

 _“Presenting Their Majesties, Queen Star and King Marco! And the guest of honor — Her Royal Highness, Princess Pandora Mila Butterfly!”_  

“Pandi?” Star peered closely down at her face, noticing brown crumbs stuck to the corners of her mouth. “Did you sneak some extra cake?”

“Yeah…” Pandora replied sheepishly, then pointed to her mother’s own mouth. “Did you?”

Star couldn’t help the giant smile from spreading across her face as she wiped her own lips, brown streaks appearing on her white glove. “Yep.”

“What am I gonna do with you two?” Marco chuckled as the doors opened and they were swept into the ballroom by cheers and rapturous applause.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, they really went all out, didn’t they?” Tom mused as he scanned the ballroom, dressed in his finest white three-piece suit. Despite how packed it was with Mewman, monster, and interdimensional guests, it still looked enormous. Blue and pink streamers draped the walls that matched the flower bunches alongside them, all beneath the vast domed ceiling and glittering rainbow chandelier in the middle.

“It’s too bright,” Lily whined on her father’s shoulders, trying to look at the source of the dancing lights head-on and covering her eyes. The Underworld tended to stick to torches and very low wattage bulbs in its red, orange and gold hued atmosphere, so it was always jarring when the little demon heir went to visit Butterfly Castle.

“That’s what happens when your kid gets kidnapped — you double the budget on her birthday party,” Janna smirked, scanning the crowd for any sign that the festivities were about to begin. “What’s taking them so long?”

“Marco’s probably trying to argue his way out of the shoulder tassels again,” Tom remarked. As he inclined his head to a couple of nobles who bowed to him and his wife, he let out a roar as pain shot through his head where his horns were. “Lily, c’mon! What did I say about hanging onto Daddy’s horns?”

“Sorry,” his daughter mumbled, resting her chin on top of his head. Then she perked up as the announcement of the royal family was made by the head chamberlain, and she clapped her little hands wildly along with the rest of the crowd.

 _“Geez,_ I dunno what’s more blinding, the lights or Star’s hair,” Janna scoffed at the coat of glitter that covered Star’s long blonde tresses. “And shoulder tassels ahoy!”

She laughed in Marco’s direction, watching him pull Pandora back beside him, urging her to walk and not run down the aisle. As the Butterflys reached the other end of the marble ballroom and waved to the crowd, the symphonic rock band immediately began to pound out a rhythmic beat and the younger guests immediately took to the floor.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear you,” Marco wagged his finger in Janna’s direction, stepping around Lily as she rushed to find Pandora after clambering down from her father’s shoulders.

“They make your head look too small for your body!” Janna cackled loudly.

“Yeah, well, your laugh makes you sound like a witch from a Halloween display!”

“Aww, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Diaz.”

“C’mon, let’s get something to drink, I’m parched,” Marco said as he pushed them towards the drink table, where a giant bowl of pastel-colored punch and numerous wine goblets sat.

“Won’t you be missed?” Tom asked, jabbing his thumb over at the crowd of nobles who milled around the throne area. 

“Nah, they’re never excited to see me,” he waved off, just as Janna shoved a long thin gift bag in his face.

“A little somethin’ for the birthday girl’s parents,” she winked.

Marco eyed her suspiciously before flinging the tissue paper aside. “Wine? You think we’d run out of beverages?”

“Oh,” Janna said. “I thought it was BYOB.”

Tom sighed, then shook his head. “Yeah,” he laughed. “BYOB, at a four-year-old’s birthday party.”

Janna huffed as she uncorked the wine. “A fancy-schmancy royal ball?” she said, pouring two goblets, “Geez, the standards these days.” She smiled, and bestowed a blush she would later deny when her husband wrapped an arm around her waist, gently squeezing her. “I’m just saying, after all we went through, I’m gonna try and drink to forget it.”

“For once, you actually have a point,” Marco piped up. “I think we all deserve some of… whatever kind of demon wine that is.”

“It’s classic red, Diaz,” Janna said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not a complete freak.”

Marco smirked; “Good to know.”

“Alright alright, a toast,” Tom announced, handing a third goblet to Marco. “To Pandora Butterfly’s fourth birthday.”

“And her and Lily’s safe return,” Marco added.

“And us.” Janna pecked Tom’s cheek, and his face flamed even hotter than usual. “The most kickass leaders Earth and Mewni have ever seen.” 

They clinked their goblets together and as they drank, Marco spied his wife a few feet away, lost in a crowd of interdimensional ambassadors and other very important people. As a smile lit up her face, eyes shining as brightly as her shimmering gold hair, he raised his goblet in her direction before taking another long swig.

 

* * *

 

“I must say, it is good to see young Princess Pandora back with us again,” the Duke of Waterfolk said with a smile, watching the birthday girl and Lily jump around dancing to the lively music from the band.

Star sighed slightly in agreement as she stood with a small group of the Mewnian elite and their ambassadors, “It was a pretty tense couple of days, but we got both girls back safe and sound.” 

“And to think you marched right into that forest and retrieved them yourself!” her Great-Aunt Etheria chirped from her wheelchair, pointing a shaking finger at her niece as if she were a child again. “No guards, no High Commission, no escort of any kind! Why if your mother was here—!”

“She would have been right beside her,” boomed a most welcome voice, and Star beamed over at her father as he elbowed himself into the circle, his cheeks under his trimmed beard a bit red from the alcohol. “You should know more than anyone, Etheria. Moon was a resourceful warrior who took matters into her own hands, and my Star has followed in her footsteps beautifully!”

“Here, here!” cheered the Duchess of Avarius, downing the rest of her cocktail in one gulp.

“Thanks, Dad,” Star said out the corner of her mouth, leaning down to give him a one-armed hug as her elderly aunt wheeled away in a huff.

“And thank the stars you prevailed. Our family couldn’t have sustained another tragedy so soon,” River muttered in her ear, and Star clutched him a little tighter. “Though I am a bit put out that you didn’t let _me_ get in on the action.”

“Daddy, we almost got killed!” she exclaimed as she pulled back.

“I may be your old man, but I’m not that old!” he cried robustly, throwing up his arms and sloshing his goblet of red liquid everywhere. “I would have slayed those beasts in half the time you and Marco did!”

“We didn’t slay any beasts. Trust me, that would’ve been a lot easier.” Luckily the minglers around her were distracted by the infectious laughter of her daughter that they didn’t see the queen’s face grow solemn.

Long gone were the days where she and Marco could just blast and punch blindly at any opponents in their path; now everything was so nuanced and complex. Fighting through the forest had meant fighting their own inner demons, enforcing their love for each other and their friends. Even their children’s kidnapper had turned out to be of Butterfly blood — her own family had threatened Pandora and ultimately everyone she loved. And that’s what Eris was, a _threat._ Most monsters meant no harm, but the ones that did needed to be dealt with. And for the Queen of Mewni, that wasn’t always an easy choice to make.

“M’Lady?” The voice of one of the Underworld’s nobles who served on Star’s council broke through her thoughts, tracing a black-nailed finger around her martini glass. “You never did tell us… why _was_ Her Highness abducted?” 

Star stiffened slightly, but decided she was not going to be the one to bring up Pandora’s birth prophecy — not at her party. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” she dismissed. “What matters is that I can’t apologize enough for your Princess Lily being caught in the middle of this.”

“Master Tom and Mistress Janna were most aggrieved when they received the news of her disappearance,” the demon lady nodded. “She is everything to them.”

“I know she is,” Star said miserably, seeing Tom grab his daughter out on the dance floor and swing her around in the air while Janna stumbled out to join them with a goblet more empty than her father’s had been. “I feel totally responsible for all of this. If Marco and I had both been out there that day, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Or maybe it still would have,” the woman pointed out wisely. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Your Majesty. Chances are the little ones will barely remember these terrible two days when they’re older.”

“I hope so — _whoa!”_ She was caught off guard as a strong arm seized her around the waist and she was swooped down into a low dip, staring up into a hypnotizing pair of deep chocolate brown eyes.

“You’re not smiling,” Marco said in a sing-song voice, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Just thinkin’ about stuff,” Star shrugged, catching a strong intoxicated whiff of his breath as they both swayed in place.

“Then stop thinkin’ about stuff,” he imitated her voice before closing his lips around hers, their Underworld neighbor having long before curtsied and gone to refill her drink. Star wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as if the taste of his lips was her own brand of champagne, his embrace letting her drown out those anxious thoughts if only temporarily. Even Pony Head’s screech of _“Get a room!”_ from across the floor sounded echoing and distant. 

“Careful there, Safe Kid,” Star giggled, as she found herself tangled up in another sweet, fumbling kiss. “You’re getting a _little_ frisky.”

Marco nodded absentmindedly, tracing his thumb against the hearts on Star’s cheeks. “So?”

Star let out a soft _“eep”_ when he pulled her closer than close. “Something tells me all of this friskiness means something, mister.” She poked him in the chest, eliciting a goofy laugh against her lips when Marco tried to kiss her once more.

“M-maybe it does,” Marco stammered. “Maybe it means I love my wife?”

“And the drinks are getting to you,” she whispered.

“Papa!” They whirled away from each other as their princess rushed over to them with the poofy skirt of her golden dress bunched in her fists. “We have to dance!" 

“Riiiight, the Daddy-Daughter dance,” the king slurred slightly, and guiltily, swaying so dangerously that he had to hang onto Star for support. “Uh, sweetie I—” 

“Papa’s a terrible dancer,” Star blurted out, making Marco gape at her, an outraged scoff escaping his throat. “Ya want me to tell her the truth?” she hissed out the corner of her mouth. “That Papa’s _sloshed?”_

“No,” Marco muttered, staring at the floor and shuffling his feet like a little kid about to be grounded.

“B-but… please?” Pandora begged, clasping her hands to her chest. “It’s my birthday.”

“Then can I dance with you, Pandi?” Star asked, her own Mewni blue skirt poofing out as she knelt to her level. “Make it a Mommy-Daughter dance instead?”

Pandora lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. “You’re not too busy?”

A pang shot through Star’s heart, enough to break it in half. She was suddenly reminded of asking the same thing of her own mother when she was a little princess at her first ball. And how Queen Moon had spared a half hour just for her; the two of them spinning and laughing together on that same marble floor.

She grabbed her daughter’s little hands, squeezing them in hers. “No, no I’m not. I’m all yours tonight." 

And Pandora let out a little squeal as she leapt forward, throwing her arms around her mother’s neck. The band had slowed the music down to a mellow almost jazz-like tune, and other parents and their children wandered out onto the dance floor. Among them, Star saw Tom and Lily walking hand-in-hand as Janna dashed off with her hand over her mouth — most likely to find a bowl to puke into.

“Dad, keep an eye on him,” Star said to River as he made his way over, jerking her head at Marco who stumbled when he tried to lean against a suit of armor. Her father gave her a salute, and Star lifted Pandora up to hold her against her chest as she stepped out onto the floor. The lights had dimmed slightly, yet a spotlight seemed to have found the birthday girl and her mother as they appeared, making a bit more of a spectacle about it than Star wanted.

All at once, she found herself swallowing down tears welling in her throat. She knew this song — it had played at her wedding. Marco must have requested it without telling her, for it was the same tune she had danced to with her father, and Marco with his mother. And now, Star held Pandora’s little hand in hers as the princess rested her head on her shoulder, tuckered out from the party and the events of the past few days.

“Mama?”

“What is it, baby?”

“I love you.”

Hiding the tears became almost impossible now, and Star glanced quickly over at Tom, who cradled Lily just as close. Their eyes met, both damp and full of so much unyielding, unconditional love.

“I love you too, Pandora,” Star whispered, not caring if any of her subjects caught their fierce queen in a moment of weakness. “And Papa, too. We both love you so, _so_ much.”

 

* * *

 

“I’m gonna sleep for a million years,” Janna mumbled as she tripped into their coach, laughing as she sprawled onto the seat.

“Yeah after you threw up on my cummerbund, I knew it was time to go,” Tom rolled his eyes, sitting across from her with one arm cradling a sleepy Lily against his chest.

“You should see Diaz — he’s gonna _fly_ up to bed.”

“It’s his castle, he can do whatever he wants. You and Pony Head, however, seem to forget we’re _guests.”_ He had drank more than both of the Earth humans combined, but naturally he burned it off quickly, leaving no ill effects behind. “Seriously, if you think I’m carrying you all the way up to our room, you got another thing coming.”

“Eh don’t worry, I’ll have your minions do it,” Janna yawned, and Tom snorted. He had to admit, the thought of an army of those little red-winged creatures trying to carry their queen up six flights of stairs _was_ pretty funny.

As the black and red royal carriage began its descent underground, Tom looked to the little girl in his lap, and was shocked to see tears in her large red eyes. 

“Lily?” he asked gently, pulling her a bit closer so she could rest her head on his chest. “What is it, hon?”

“I was bad,” the demon toddler sniffed, digging her nails into the front of Tom’s shirt. 

“What do you mean you were bad?” he asked, and even Janna raised her head from the black plush seat despite her hangover.

“I took Pandi near the forest,” Lily whined through hitched breath. “I wanted to play over there, and then we—” Her face scrunched up tightly as large salty drops dribbled down her round face, staining her pretty pink party dress. “I was a bad girl, Daddy! I’m sorry!”

“Oh gods,” Janna’s voice broke, covering her mouth with her hands as her own eyes watered.

“No,” Tom uttered, strength creeping into his tone despite how much this was killing him inside. “No, hon, look at me.” He put a finger under his daughter’s chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “You’re _not_ a bad girl. And this wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t Pandi’s fault, and it wasn’t Uncle Marco’s fault either.”

“Well…” Janna began, then saw all three of her husband’s eyes narrow at her. “Okay fine, it wasn’t. Technically.”

“It was a bad person who tried to hurt you,” he soothed, wrapping his cape around his distraught child. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He felt Janna slide in beside him, resting her head on his shoulder as she curled an arm around Lily as well. It was the price of being royals: Someone was always going to try and hurt their baby, especially with their kingdom being in alliance with the Butterflys. A life Tom was born into, a life Janna had chosen, and a life where Lily was a victim of circumstance. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t escapable either.

“Ya know, I think it’s time for a family vacation,” Janna grinned, and Tom’s eyes lit up.

“Hey yeah — how ‘bout it Lily?” he asked, bouncing her lightly. “Wanna go to the beach?”

“I was thinkin’ a theme park or something,” his wife interrupted. “Gotta break my girl into the haunted house ride while she’s still young.” And when Lily giggled through her hiccups, both parents exhaled in a slight sigh of relief.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Tom said to both of his girls, bringing an arm around Janna to pull her into the embrace. “Pretty soon, this is all just gonna feel like a bad dream…”

 

* * *

 

“Mama?” Pandora’s soft voice whined, as she clumsily opened the door to her parents’ bedroom, toddling in. “Can I sleep with you and Papa tonight?”

The mattress creaked as Marco rolled over, even the slightest movement causing his head to throb. “No, Pandi,” he groaned. “You’re a big girl now.”

Star pouted, then glanced to her husband and back to their little girl. “Is something wrong, sweetie?” she said, sliding off the bed and holding her arms out— a summon for Pandora to run forward, diving in for a hug, crying her eyes out. “Did somebody have a nightmare?”

“Uh-huh,” Pandora mumbled, shaking out her breaths and holding onto her mother tight.

“She’s not gonna do that—” Marco mumbled, noticing his little princess look over Star’s shoulder, navy eyes glistening and wide. “Oh, now that’s just not fair.”

“Cut her some slack Marco, she was a hostage less than forty-eight hours ago,” his wife said in an undertone, stroking her daughter’s hair as she sat back down on the bed.

“Th-there was a lady…” Pandora sniffled.

“That bad lady’s gone,” Star stated bravely for the terrified bundle curled up against her. “Remember when I said there’s good monsters and bad ones? She was an evil monster and she’s never coming back, I promise.”

“No...I saw a different lady. She had marks like mine.”

The queen froze, watching an identical look of shock cross her husband’s face as he sat up. _Eclipsa._

“It’s-it’s okay,” Marco stammered a bit, wrapping an arm around Pandora and kissing her tears away. “Don’t cry, it was just a dream.” He gave Star a withering look, and she nodded in thanks in return.

“Just for tonight, Marco,” she promised.

“Just for tonight,” he gave in, and they both shifted aside so Pandora could wiggle down in-between them, closing her eyes as soon as her head hit Star’s pillow.  
  
“I just can’t let go of her,” the queen said sadly, sheltering her only child in her arms. “It sounds so dumb, but… I’m afraid if I let her go, she’s gonna be taken from me again.”

“Then we’re both dumb,” Marco said, his eyes falling shut once more. “‘Cause I feel the same way.” His hand blindly fumbled for hers and Star linked her fingers through his to kiss it, before placing it on Pandora’s shoulder. 

“Star?” he spoke up softly after several moments of lying there in silence. “When are we gonna tell her?”

“Tell her what?” Star asked, tucking the blankets in around the sleeping princess.

“You know what.”

Even in an only half-sobered state, Marco still managed to bring that up. The reason Eris had kidnapped their little miracle in the first place. Her inherent power from an ancient queen that she would never be able to escape. Star’s eyes focused solely on the spades on Pandora’s cheeks, and she shook her head stubbornly.

“Not now,” she sighed. “Not after all this.”

“But soon?” Marco prodded.

“Yeah,” his wife replied distractedly, running her fingers through Pandora’s thick brown locks. “Soon… ish.”

Eclipsa hadn’t been completely evil as she and the rest of Mewni had been led to believe for years. But she had been reckless, distraught and isolated, which caused her to do terrible things with her magic. And while Star could identify with her distant great-grandmother to a degree, she couldn’t risk her child ushering in an even worse era that might not be so morally grey. 

The queen of Mewni was an independent woman, but she had never felt so much love for the two people in bed with her as she did now. They were her support beams when she felt about to topple, her laughter through the tears, the reason she kept going for the kingdom of Mewni. And while her heart felt full to bursting, Star still felt it had even more to give. Leaning over Pandora, she reached out and stroked her husband’s hair lovingly until he stirred.

“Hey,” Star murmured. “I want another one.”

Marco mumbled out some incoherent nonsense, adjusting his position on the bed to fondly look at Pandora, snoozing away right beside her mother.

“We just rescued this one,” he muttered, burying his face into his wife’s hair.

Star giggled. “So?” she mused. “I love our baby so much, Marco, and I hated being an only child.” She kissed the top of their daughter’s head, letting the little girl fidget. “Just… think about it, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Marco yawned, wrapping an arm around his wife and child.

But in his mind, the last thing this kingdom needed right now was more potential targets for their enemies to come after.

 

_The End_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are great, but comments are better :)


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